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The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen outside their branch in Bern, Switzerland.

Global investment bank Credit Suisse Group AG narrowed the scope of its operations in Canada on Thursday, a move that resulted in a modest reduction in head count, as part of a larger strategic move to focus on key sectors and cut costs.

Credit Suisse told approximately 110 Canadian employees that its core sectors in the domestic market are energy, mining and diversified industries, and it is shifting equity research and sales coverage of industries such as banking, telecom and retailing from Toronto to New York. The decision resulted in the departure of eight employees, including Canadian analysts who follow financial services, consumer products and telecom stocks.

Credit Suisse remains among the largest foreign-owned investment banks in Canada, with investment banking and equity sales, trading and research operations in Toronto and Calgary. The investment bank's analysts continue to cover more than 100 Canadian stocks, representing approximately 60 per cent of companies listed in the TSX benchmark index.

The moves come as Credit Suisse pares back its operations to improve performance and boost its share price, which has fallen 50 per cent in the last year. In May, recently named CEO Tidjane Thiam made an investor presentation titled "Accelerating the Restructuring" that pledged to "right-size" the global capital markets platform and strip out 2.5-billion Swiss francs ($3.4-billion) of costs by 2018.

In Canada, Credit Suisse is having a strong year, ranking among the country's top 10 equity underwriters and advising on transactions for blue chip clients such as Encana Corp., Enbridge Inc., Centerra Gold Inc., Seven Generations Energy Ltd. and Shopify Inc. The firm also frequently shows up as an adviser to corporate Canada on foreign deals, working with clients such as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

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