Credit Suisse's U.S. Pension Business Under Threat

Another day, another headache for Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse's pension business in the United States is under threat as its status as a Qualified Pension Asset Manager (QPAM) is under review, according to a report by «Bloomberg» (behind paywall).

The U.S. Department of Labor extended Credit Suisse's QPAM for one year «to ensure that Covered Plans and their participants and beneficiaries are protected while the Department determines whether additional relief is warranted,» according to the U.S. government's Federal Register.

Systemic Criminal Misconduct

Institutions or individuals that manage pensions overseen by the Labor Department are required to get permission to continue operations in the event of certain criminal convictions.  

The Labor Department said, «the Convictions and other alleged Credit Suisse-related criminal misconduct constitute serious years-long systemic criminal misconduct that counsels against providing broad relief from ERISA's (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) prohibited transaction provisions and raises fundamental questions regarding whether the CS Affiliated QPAMs have sufficient integrity" to continue to rely on the relief.

Credit Suisse declined to comment and the Labor Department did not immediately reply to requests for comment, the «Bloomberg» report said. 

History Repeating Itself?

In 2014, Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to helping Americans evade taxes, and went through an appeal with the Labor Department to continue managing U.S. pension funds. It was granted a one-year extension followed by a five-year waiver to continue operations, according to «Bloomberg».