António Horta-Osório – CS President resigns after Corona violations

Axel Lehmann will be the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse. He replaces the resigning António Horta-Osório with immediate effect. The big bank announced this on Monday night. The Board of Directors has conducted an investigation into breaches of Corona rules against Horta-Osório.

Horta-Osório is quoted as saying in the CS statement that he is going in the interests of the bank: “I regret that some of my personal actions have caused difficulties for the bank and have affected my ability to represent them internally and externally.”

In December it became known that the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse was investigating two violations of quarantine regulations by António Horta-Osório in Switzerland and the UK. The bank did not officially comment on this.

Horta-Osório returned to Zurich on a private jet from London on November 28, when the UK was already on the list of countries from which travelers must quarantine for 10 days. Nevertheless, three days later he flew to the Iberian Peninsula and then to New York. CS and Horta-Osório later apologized for this behavior. Shortly thereafter, the CS boss at the time turned himself in.

Horta-Osório already circumvented British corona rules in July when he traveled to London for the Wimbledon final.

The Portuguese was appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse in April. The big bank had high hopes in him: he was supposed to give the crisis-ridden big bank a new strategy and improve its image.

His successor is now the former UBS banker Axel Lehmann, as announced by CS. The Swiss has already taken office and is to be proposed for election as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on April 29.