The head of Credit Suisse’s risk committee has stepped down ahead of its annual general meeting, staving off a potential shareholder confrontation at the crisis-stricken Swiss bank.
Andreas Gottschling, who has led the Swiss bank’s risk committee through the twin crises of Archegos Capital and Greensill, has become the latest executive to fall on his sword.
Credit Suisse’s board had considered the removal of Gottschling ahead of its AGM today, with large shareholders signalling to the Financial Times that they would vote against his re-election. Norges Bank Investment Management, which holds a 3% stake in Credit Suisse, also told the Wall Street Journal it would vote against Gottschling’s appointment.
In a brief statement, Credit Suisse said that Gottschling “will not stand for re-election” and therefore the AGM item proposing his appointment becomes obsolete.
READ Credit Suisse warns of an extra $654m hit from Archegos coming
Credit Suisse’s chief risk officer Lara Warner and the chief executive of its investment bank, Brian Chin, have already resigned. The moves followed the collapse of family office Archegos Capital, which will cost the Swiss bank $5.4bn— by far the biggest hit of any large investment bank exposed to the fund.
Archegos’ meltdown after a margin call on $20bn worth of investments in large technology firms, has rocked large investment banks that provide prime broking services. Losses across the industry now exceed $10bn, after UBS unveiled a surprise $861m hit during its first quarter results on 27 April.
Credit Suisse’s shares have plunged by more than a quarter since March after Archegos as well as its exposure to collapsed trade finance firm, Greensill Capital. The bank was forced to suspend $10bn worth of supply chain finance funds related to Greensill last month, and the firm replaced Eric Varvel as head of its asset management unit.
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Originally Appeared On: https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/credit-suisse-risk-committee-head-gottschling-steps-down-ahead-of-agm-20210430