Zurich (awp) – The managing director of Credit Suisse, Thomas Gottstein, is said to be leaving, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday evening. The bank, which publishes its quarterly results on Wednesday, contacted by AWP, did not want to speak on the issue.
“We do not comment on market rumours,” said a spokeswoman for the big bank. According to the American newspaper indicated that the departure of Mr. Gottstein would be linked to the efforts of turnaround of the institute. No name has been mentioned to replace the current general manager.
The time of departure is also not determined, according to the newspaper. The announcement of the departure could take place this Wednesday, on the sidelines of the presentation of the results, said a person familiar with the matter.
Last June, the two-veiled bank issued a profit warning and announced that it would post a net loss in the second quarter. The result will have been weighed down by a loss in the investment bank, which has suffered greatly in recent months from the difficult environment on the financial markets.
From Archegos to Greensill ___
Mr. Gottstein has led Credit Suisse since February 2020, when he replaced Tidjane Thiam, swept away by the incredible affair of the spinning mills of senior executives of the bank.
Under Mr Gottstein, the bank suffered a series of costly debacles, including the Greensill Capital and Archegos Capital Management cases, in early 2021. The boss is now expected to clean up the bank.
But the wave of negative news continued: a Bermuda court fined the bank in late March $607 million in a legal dispute with former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. Credit Suisse immediately appealed the judgment.
Supported by the Chairman of the Board of Directors ___
At the end of April, the chairman of the board of directors Axel Lehmann gave his support to Mr. Gottstein. The bank’s return to the right path must be led with the general manager, he said.
The chairman had stressed that he did not want to replace the CEO “because he is good. He knows investment banking, wealth management and business in Switzerland”. After all the changes at the top floors of the bank, you need someone at the head who knows the organization and who the key customers are, the president added.
About the recent turmoil, the president had admitted that the institute was at the bottom of its form, but that it remained a good bank with a lot of substance. The accumulation of unpleasant surprises must no longer multiply, he noted again.
The plummeting action ___
All these events did not fail to have an effect on the action of the bank. While the stock was still worth almost 13 Swiss francs in February 2021, it is now only worth around 5 Swiss francs after even hitting a historic low a little below this level not long ago.
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