The chair of Switzerland's financial regulator accused Credit Suisse executives of half-hearted cooperation and now wants to hold them accountable.
Credit Suisse failed because of «many scandals and bad decisions by management,» Marlene Amstadt, president of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma), said in an interview with the «NZZ am Sonntag» (in German, behind paywall) newspaper over the weekend. While the regulator intervened with the bank very early on and initiated numerous procedures, Credit Suisse cooperated poorly and refused to draw the necessary consequences.
Now, Finma is looking into holding top Credit Suisse management accountable. «We are exploring the relevant options,» Amstad said. To prevent similar cases in the future, it is calling for additional means of punishment the possibility of handing out fines, as well as imposing punitive measures on errant managers. «In the area of accountability of individual decision-makers, it is apparent that there are gaps that need to be closed,» Amstad said.
Sergio Ermotti Considered
Mismanagement at Credit Suisse has been an issue for years, she said. Without naming names, Amstad makes clear that the decline began during the tenures of Urs Rohner and Tidjane Thiam. The merger with UBS was the best option. In the end, Credit Suisse chose the partner itself, and «we didn't tell Credit Suisse who to call. As a private company, that was their decision,» Amstad explains.
A reconstruction of the events shows Credit Suisse fought bitterly by all means until the very end. It claims to have gone to Finma with several proposals on how it could have regained the trust of markets and customers. The supervisory authority rejected them. In the end, Credit Suisse itself is said to have preferred nationalization and, according to the «NZZ am Sonntag», ex-UBS boss Sergio Ermotti was intended to be its CEO.
