Credit Suisse shareholders take aim at vice-chair following scandals

Credit Suisse investors have warned that they will try to block any move to extend the tenure of the bank’s longtime vice-chair Severin Schwan as the scandal-hit lender faces growing pressure to rebuild its reputation.

The future of Schwan, who is also chief executive of Swiss pharma group Roche, is in the spotlight as Credit Suisse attempts to restore investors’ confidence following the abrupt exit last month of chair António Horta-Osório for repeated breaches of coronavirus quarantine rules.

Shares in the bank have tumbled more than 60 per cent since Schwan joined the board in 2014, with last year’s twin scandals involving supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital and family office Archegos damaging the bank’s reputation for risk management.

Schwan had intended to leave before the bank’s annual meeting in April, according to three people familiar with the matter, but has been asked by other board members to reconsider his departure to maintain stability under the new chair Axel Lehmann, who only joined the board in October, the people said.

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However, two top 10 shareholders told the Financial Times they would vote against Schwan – who has served as vice-chair and lead independent director since 2017 – in the event he was proposed for re-election.

Several other investors said they had serious concerns about Schwan’s ability to run one of the world’s largest drugmakers while also acting as the bank’s vice-chair, which involves deputising for the chair and advising them.

“If he’s up for election there will be a fight,” one top 10 shareholder told the FT.

The bank, which releases its annual results on Thursday, has yet to publish its list of proposed board members ahead of its agm on April 29th.

Last month Schwan told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger that he had not made up his mind about whether he would stand at the agm. “In any case the task now is to stabilise the bank and I am happy to support the new chair in this,” he added.

Andreas Gottschling, who had served as chair of Credit Suisse’s risk committee, last year stepped down from the board after several large shareholders indicated they would vote against his re-election.

Schwan was instrumental in bringing Horta-Osório on to the board, but less than a year later was also one of the main forces pushing for his removal, according to people with knowledge of the board’s deliberations.

Schwan and Credit Suisse declined to comment. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2022