Credit Suisse proposes adding two risk experts to its board

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse wants to appoint two risk experts to its non-executive board, Switzerland’s second biggest bank said on Friday, as it seeks to repair the damage caused by the Archegos and Greensill affairs.

New Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio has made risk and cultural change a top priority after the bank lost more than $5 billion in the rush to unwind trades by family office Archegos and the collapse of $10 billion in funds backed by insolvent supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital.

Credit Suisse has proposed former UBS executive Axel Lehmann to join its board and become chairman of its risk committee. The Swiss executive has a “a wealth of experience in risk management,” the bank said.

It also proposed Juan Colombas, who has been an executive director and member of the Audit and Risk Committees at Dutch bank ING Group since 2020.

The bank has called an extraordinary general meeting on Oct. 1 for the pair to be elected to its non-executive board.

“With their deep experience in risk management and business leadership, and both with careers spanning approximately three decades in financial services, they will make an invaluable contribution as we shape the bank’s strategic realignment and enhance our culture of risk management and personal responsibility and accountability,” said Horta-Osório in a statement.

A “lackadaisical” attitude towards risk and “a lack of accountability” were to blame for Credit Suisse’s $5.5 billion loss on investment fund Archegos, according to a review published last month.

Credit Suisse said action has been taken against 23 staff members over Archegos, with nine fired and a total of $70 million in monetary penalties taken from all of them.

The bank’s chief risk and compliance officer, Lara Warner, has also left the bank in April in the wake of the affair.

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