Antonio Horta-Osorio had pledged to deal with risk at Credit Suisse.
Zurich:
The head of Credit Suisse has resigned less than a year after taking over the reins of the scam-hit bank, after reports said he broke Covid quarantine rules.
Switzerland’s second-largest bank said in a statement Monday that Antonio Horta-Osorio’s resignation was effective immediately following an investigation launched by the board.
Axel Lehmann, a member of the board of directors, was appointed to replace him.
“I regret that many of my personal actions have caused difficulties for the Bank and have compromised my ability to represent the Bank internally and externally,” Horta-Osorio said in the statement.
“Therefore I believe that my resignation at this critical time is in the interest of the Bank and its stakeholders.”
Credit Suisse confirmed last month that Horta-Osorio had violated quarantine rules, following a report by Swiss tabloid Blick.
Switzerland tightened the conditions for entering or returning to the country in late November following the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Blick reported in December that Horta-Osorio had traveled from Britain to Switzerland on a private jet after Britain was placed on a list of countries bound by quarantine rules.
After arriving at his home, Horta-Osorio asked if he could be released from isolation or whether the measure could be shortened for him, the newspaper said.
Despite no response from the authorities, the banker escorted the plane to the Iberian Peninsula before heading to New York for a board meeting.
The resignation adds to the woes of the Swiss banking giant, which was rocked last year by links to multi-billion dollar recessions at financial firms Greensil and Arcgos.
Horta-Osorio, who had built a solid reputation in turning around British bank Lloyd’s, had pledged to hedge risk at Credit Suisse.
‘Without distraction’
Severin Schwann, Vice President of the Board of Credit Suisse, said: “We respect Antonio’s decision (to resign) and thank him greatly for his leadership in defining the new strategy, which we will implement over the coming months and years.” will continue to do so.” Company statement.
“As the new President, Axel Lehmann, with his extensive international and Swiss industry experience, is ideally suited to drive the Bank’s strategic and cultural transformation,” he added.
The bank proposes that Lehmann, who heads the risk committee from October, will take over as chairman permanently at the annual general meeting on April 29, the bank said.
“We have set in the right direction with the new strategy and we will continue to incorporate a strong risk culture into the firm,” Lehmann said.
“By executing our strategic plan in a timely and disciplined manner, I am confident that Credit Suisse will demonstrate the renewed strength and business focus needed to generate sustainable value for all our stakeholders,” he added.
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