CS will cut 9,000 jobs and raise capital over the next three years. A major restructuring awaits in the big bank, especially in investment banking. This is after repeated losses and scandals that have rocked the bank for years.
September 2019 – Surveillance scandal
Iqbal Khan (46), then chief asset manager at CS, moves on to arch-rival UBS. Fearing that Khan could take clients and employees to his new employer, CS hired detectives to watch them. But they fly. Tidjane Thiam (60), CS CEO at the time, resigned in February 2020 as a result of the relationship. Thomas Gottstein (58) replaces him.
March 2021 – Greensill and Archegos go bankrupt with billions
Financial services firm Greensill Capital is heading for bankruptcy. CS has to freeze four funds worth ten billion francs. Just a few weeks later, US asset manager Archegos Capital speculated and CS made a $5 billion loss. The two bankruptcies symbolize a culture of inadequate risk within CS.
October 2021 – The Mozambique Issue
A report by the Financial Markets Authority (Finma) concludes that billion-dollar loans from CS to two state-owned companies in Mozambique partially flowed into private pockets instead of financing ships for the coast guard and tuna fleet as planned. . CS has to pay a $475 million fine.
January 2022 – António Horta-Osórios quarantine violation
As Blick explained, then-CS President António Horta-Osório (58) repulsed the corona quarantine after a trip to London. Horta-Osório is forced to resign under public pressure. Axel Lehmann (63) takes over.
February 2022 – Suisse Secrets
A data leak reveals how CS has managed the funds of criminals and dictators for decades. About 30,000 customers and more than 100 billion francs in assets. Among the clients: (former) heads of state, controversial intelligence chiefs, suspected war criminals. Most of these client relationships are a thing of the past, the data leak has no legal ramifications for CS.
March 2022 – Lescaudron case
Former CS banker Patrice Lescaudron († 57) managed money from Geneva to super-rich clients from Eastern Europe for years. In doing so, he attracted millions and speculated billions in high-risk investments. In March, a Bermuda court ordered CS to pay US$607 million in damages to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the 66-year-old former Prime Minister of Georgia, a former customer of Lescaudron. The Lescaudron case for CS is by no means over: the Geneva prosecutor’s office is investigating money laundering.
June 2022 – Money laundering for the Bulgarian mafia
The Federal Criminal Court found CS guilty of failing to prevent money laundering. For years he had allowed the Bulgarian drug mafia to launder money in Switzerland. CS has to pay a relatively small fine of two million francs. He announced that he would appeal the decision.
July 2022 – Thomas Gottstein’s resignation
CS has reported crimson quarterly figures for the third time in a row – and CEO Thomas Gottstein has to vacate his seat. Ulrich Körner (60) replaces him. It should give the bank a new strategy and save 1 to 1.5 billion francs. The bank announced that it will only provide information on its definitive restructuring plans in October, with figures for the next three months. The rumor mill boils for months – and causes the share price to plummet.
October 2022 – million buses in France and the USA
CS may eventually close two old cases: It pays a total of 238m euros as part of a settlement in France because it is said to assist French customers with tax evasion. He accepted a payment of $495 million almost simultaneously in the US. It’s about junk mortgages that CS is said to mislead customers. Over the last ten years, CS has spent nearly twelve billion Swiss Francs on fines, settlement and compensation payments. Even if the CS dismisses most cases as inheritance or blames individual bankers for misconduct, the multiplicity of penalties demonstrates a culture of dubious risk at the bank.