Credit Suisse is struggling to reduce a backlog of hundreds of new wealthy clients waiting as long as eight months to open accounts in Asia, causing some to switch to rivals and hitting staff morale in a business at the heart of the bank’s efforts to revive its fortunes.

The challenge facing Credit Suisse in Asia comes after the bank in November introduced more stringent source of wealth (SoW) corroboration standards for new clients, a move prompted by a series of scandals that left it in the crosshairs of regulators and with a multibillion-dollar trading loss.

By February, the new measures had created a waiting list of more than 600 people, as understaffed “know-your-customer” and SoW teams strained under the increased workload, according to people familiar with the matter, just as staff in the region also face limited flexibility in working from home.