(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG’s new risk chief said the troubled lender should consider taking more chances again, after two years of scandals and financial hits eroded its appetite for putting money to work.

After the “catastrophic events” that culminated in billions of dollars in losses from the collapse of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital, the “risk pendulum did swing a bit to the conservative side,” David Wildermuth said at an investor “deep dive” on Tuesday. 

“I think we are moving the pendulum back the other way,” he said. “And we have the capacity to increase our risk.”

The comments come as the Swiss firm seeks to transition from damage control and a nearly complete management shakeup to a period of growth again. After cutting back the investment bank, Credit Suisse has pledged to shift about $3 billion of capital to the wealth management unit. But in a sign of the challenges that remain, the lender earlier this month warned of a third straight quarterly loss amid volatile markets.

Wildermuth, who joined this year, said the bank needs to take “smart risks” where it understands the outcome even in an unforeseen scenario. Still, there are “‘good risk opportunities out there,” he said.

“It’s funny,” he said, explaining it’s the second time in his career that he’s a “cheerleader taking on more risk.” The other time, the former deputy risk chief at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said, “was obviously right after the great financial crisis.”

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