The Swiss bank is asking shareholders to vet two new board directors out of the cycle. The move represents a desire to bolster its risk expertise.
Zurich-based Credit Suisse is proposing Axel Lehmann (pictured below) and Juan Colombas as board members at an extraordinary board meeting conducted virtually in October, it said in a statement on Friday. Lehmann, a former UBS board member and executive, is pegged to take over Credit Suisse's board-level risk committee.
The move follows twin blow-ups of risk five months ago, one which sparked a hasty $1.9 billion capital injection by its staunchest heavyweight investors as well as a swath of executive exits. Last month, Credit Suisse released an excoriating litany of its failings with Archegos, where it lost more than $5 billion.
Snagged After UBS
Both proposed new board members are risk veterans: Lehmann was until February the CEO of UBS' domestic business but previously spent five years overseeing its board risk committee. He also held various risk roles in Zurich Insurance's top management.
Colombas (pictured below) is a long-time associate of Credit Suisse Chairman António Horta-Osório, having overseen risk and then operations at Lloyds when the latter ran the British lender. He has been a board director at Dutch bank ING since October, a job he would likely have to give up.
Year-End Review
The men's expertise would fill a vacancy left by Andreas Gottschling, who oversaw Credit Suisse's risk committee and eschewed reelection in the wake of Archegos and Greensill. Lehmann and Colombas lend credibility to Horta-Osório's pledge to make risk management a top priority at the battered bank.
The chairman of four months has flagged a review due by year-end. If elected, Lehmann and Colombas would come into their roles roughly three months before new risk chief David Wildermuth of Goldman Sachs does.
More to follow
