Queen Elizabeth bestowed Credit Suisse's new chairman with an honorary title for his services to the British economy and for mental health awareness.
António Horta-Osório was knighted by the British monarch in her annual birthday honors list made public on Saturday. Horta-Osorio, who can now preface his name with «Sir,» was singled out for «services to financial services and voluntary services to mental healthcare and to culture».
The 57-year-old Portuguese-British banker is in the midst of a maelstrom at Credit Suisse, which is struggling to come to grips with a $10.1 billion Greensill fund implosion as well as $5 billion in losses in dealing with Archegos. Before joining the Swiss wealth manager just six weeks ago, he had run Lloyds for a decade.
«Deeply Honored»
Horta-Osorio said he was deeply honored by the knighthood and said he believed it reflected the work of his Lloyds colleagues «who were unstinting in their service to customers and to the British taxpayer throughout my time there,» in a statement.
The London-based bank was hit hard by the 2008/09 financial crisis, and forced to accept a government bailout. It didn't fully return to private ownership until 2017, following several strategic reviews as well as extraordinarily costly recompense for mis-selling insurance.
Unprecedented Stress Leave
A widely-respected executive in the U.K., Horta-Osório also became an early, public advocate of mental health in the workplace – far before it was common to do so. Just eight months after taking the top job at Lloyd's in 2011, he took a break for stress leave for burnout, to the shock of the banking industry.
Under psychiatric care, Horta-Osório tamed his «Superman» persona, he told a British outlet four years ago: he doesn't read emails or take calls between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., for example. He said recently his fear of Lloyds failing had been a huge factor in his burnout.
Marred By Blemishes
His tenure was marred by a few blemishes: he was criticized for being the highest-paid CEO of an FTSE-listed company at a time when Lloyds was cutting jobs and closing branches.
Four years ago, he apologized to the bank's employees over an extramarital affair. He has also been repeatedly criticized for Lloyds' handling of a major fraud at HBOS' Reading branch in the run-up to the financial crisis.
The Queen's honors were heavy on acknowledging those who helped deal with the Covid-19 pandemic but also awarded figures in entertainment, the arts, culture and sport including Manchester City player Raheem Sterling, who received an MBE for services to racial equality.
Honor For Adversary
Ironically, the Queen four years ago made one of Credit Suisse's biggest adversaries today a CBE (Commander of the British Empire): Lex Greensill. Horta-Osório termed the crisis sparked by Greensill as well as Archegos the worst he has ever faced.
It follows a series of missteps last year including «spygate» under previous Chairman Urs Rohner, which have tarnished the Swiss bank's reputation. Horta-Osorio, who bought $1.2 million of Credit Suisse stock last month, has pledged a review of strategy, culture, and risk.
