Credit Suisse apologizes to its shareholders and says the sale was agreed to avoid a global “catastrophe”

Board of Directors Credit Suisse apologized to shareholders bank because he did not prevent the collapse of the entity, founded 167 years ago, and defended before the general assembly that the purchase was rushed UBS it represented the only alternative to avoid disaster, not only for Switzerland, but also for the world economy.

In his speech to the annual general meeting of shareholders, the first in person in the last four years and the last in the 167-year history of Credit Suisse, the bank’s president, Axel P. Lehmannhe said it was a “sad day” and wanted to apologize for not being able to “get the entity back on track,” as reported by Europa Press.

“This is a sad day,” admitted Lehmann, who regretted to Credit Suisse shareholders that he did not have enough time to change the situation at the bank and that “in that fateful week in March” all plans were disrupted.

“I’m really sorry for that. I apologize that we could no longer stop the loss of trust that had accumulated over the years and that we let you down.“, he added.

In this sense, the president of the Swiss entity assured that he believed in the success of the efforts to change Credit Suisse, “until the beginning of the fateful week”, but pointed out that the combination of rising interest rates, inflation and market volatility has shaken confidence and after the problems with American banks, there was fear of a global contagion.

Axel P. Lehmann: “There were only two options: agreement or bankruptcy”

“Social media and digitization have fueled this fear. It hit us at the most vulnerable point in mid-March,” he defended himself, adding that, despite fighting to the end to find a solution, “ultimately, there were only two options: settlement or bankruptcy».

“The merger had to happen. The terms had to be accepted. The only alternative would be restructuring under Swiss banking law. This would lead to the worst possible scenario.», he explained, talking about the total loss for shareholders and unpredictable risks for clients, with serious consequences for the economy and global financial markets.

In this way, Lehamnn ensured that, in accordance with the obligation to protect the interests of shareholders and provide security to clients, the board of directors of Credit Suisse approved the transaction, thus restoring clarity, security and stability.

In this regard, the CEO of Credit Suisse, Ulrich Körner, regretted that he did not successfully complete the plan to return the bank to its position in time. “We ran out of time. This fills me with sadness,” he admitted.

It also pointed out that the bank was significantly weakened by outflows registered in October 2022 “as a result of rumors and unfounded speculation”, while a legal block of weeks to communicate a new strategy prevented the possibility of reversing the loss of confidence.

“We were particularly vulnerable at that time,” he said, referring to the situation recorded as a result the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the USwhich shocked the world and led to a dramatic loss of confidence in the global financial industry, he said.

“We were forced to act quickly and decisively. We no longer had a choice,” he defended himself by assuring that the collapse of Credit Suisse “would be catastrophic not only for Switzerland but also for the world economy”. “In the end, a merger with UBS was the only viable option,” he added.

In this regard, the CEO of Credit Suisse emphasized the importance of looking forward now and working with the management of UBS for as long as necessary to ensure that the best possible solutions are found for the employees.

“We are committed to transparently managing this process and keeping this time of uncertainty as short as possible,” he said, expressing hope that, together with Credit Suisse, the new UBS will be able to significantly expand and strengthen its leading position as a global wealth trustee based in Switzerland, opening up new perspectives for all involved.

Shareholders accuse the management: “They deceived us”

Credit Suisse shareholders expressed their anger on Tuesday over the mismanagement of the bank’s managers, according to Efe.

“I feel that this institution deceived me, and that the Government was not well informed,” said the first shareholder who intervened, assuring that those responsible in that entity “have been resting on their laurels for the past 15 years.”

“Calm down, I didn’t bring a gun”assured the shareholder after drawing attention to the high security measures that followed this year’s assembly, where there was tension and shouts from the public were also heard.

Vincent Kauffmann, director of the Ethos Foundation, an important shareholder consisting of Swiss pension funds and other institutional investors, assured for his part that they have repeatedly asked to investigate the risky operations of the entity and its numerous scandals, which in his opinion “destroyed the reputation “.

“We need to ensure that shareholders are compensated in the best possible way after the large sums of money lost and that management takes its responsibility in the crisis,” Kauffmann said.

“In the Middle Ages, for actions like yours, they would have been crucified”

At times, the protests took on almost surreal overtones. A shareholder held up empty walnut shells to express the value of Credit Suisse sharesand another went so far as to ensure that those responsible for the bank “would have been crucified in the Middle Ages for actions like theirs”.

«25 years ago with a Credit Suisse share of 80 francs we could pay for dinner in a good restaurant, but now (which is worth less than a franc) it is not enough to croissant»complained that other shareholder.

The president of the bank, Axel Lehmann, who opened the assembly by apologizing for not being able to contain the bank’s crisis, after their interventions, visibly upset, answered all the shareholders in turn.

“You are to blame for this, for the damage caused to the state, damage that will be visible for several decades.”said another shareholder, Francesco de Giorgio, who said he felt “ashamed of this complete disaster, as a former employee and current shareholder.”

A representative of individual investor organization Actares described the bank’s management as a “fiasco” after the many risks it had taken in previous years, which led to the final crisis and the need to be bought by UBS to avoid bankruptcy.

There were also protests near Zurich’s Hallenstadion, where the rally is being held, with someone placing a broken boat in a position to simulate a shipwreck, symbolizing the fall of Credit Suisse (whose logo is a sailboat).