Swiss bank Credit Suisse is looking to replace the head of its U.S. legal unit after a departure resulting from the Greensill debacle.
Credit Suisse is looking for a new head for its U.S. legal unit and is reviewing internal and external candidates as well as having hired an executive search firm, a source familiar with the proceedings told «Bloomberg» (behind paywall).
Since the billion-dollar losses also suffered in March 2021 with the New York financial firm Archegos Capital, the reputation of Credit Suisse has been tarnished on Wall Street. The new head of the U.S. legal unit may have some convincing to do in this regard.
Eric Varvel held the position until his forced resignation last December, having worked at the bank for three decades and where he also oversaw the bank's asset management. It was in that role that he, critically, championed the Greensill supply chain funds which were frozen in March of last year, shortly before Archegos collapsed.
Secret Report
As a result, he was held partly responsible for the debacle which resulted in the funds being closed. After an internal investigation, the results of which the bank continues to keep secret, Varvel was left to face the consequences.
Long Battle Looms
Credit Suisse would be unable to pay the outstanding $2.7 billion dollars owed to 1,200 Greensill investors for at least another five years, if at all, the «Financial Times» (behind a paywall) reports, citing people familiar with the matter.
Since the Greensill supply chain funds collapsed last year, the bank has returned $6.7 billion to investors with a further $600 million held in cash, but the next phase of the process is marked by «tortuous debt renegotiations, lengthy legal cases, and disputed insurance claims,» the report writes.
