Chairman of scandal-hit Credit Suisse QUITS after internal probe found he broke Covid rules twice including to attend Wimbledon finals when he was supposed to be in quarantine
- Credit Suisse Chairman and former Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio has quit
- Comes after internal probe found he had broken Covid rules to visit Wimbledon
- He said ‘I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties’
Credit Suisse Chairman and former Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio has quit – after breaking strict isolation rules to go to Wimbledon.
It comes less than a year after Horta-Osorio, 57, was hired to help the bank deal with the implosion of collapsed investment firm Archegos and the insolvency of British supply chain finance company Greenshill Capital.
It was still reeling from the 2020 exit of CEO Tidjane Thiam over a spying scandal.
The problems triggered multi-billion dollar losses and sackings at Switzerland’s No 2 bank, and Horta-Osorio unveiled a new strategy in November to rein in its investment bankers and curb a freewheeling culture.
But Horta-Osorio’s personal conduct has recently come under scrutiny over breaching COVID-19 quarantine rules.
In a statement issued by Credit Suisse on Monday, Horta-Osorio said: ‘I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally.
Former Credit Suisse boss Antonio Horta-Osorio and wife Ana attend Ladies Day at Glorious Goodwood held at Goodwood Racecourse on August 2, 2012
Antonio Horta-Osorio and wife Ana attend the F1 Charity Party, at the Victoria & Albert Museum on June 17, 2009
Then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio back in 2013
‘I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time,’ added Horta-Osorio, the former CEO of Lloyds.
Horta-Osório, was titled Britain’s best paid banker in 2018 when he earned a staggering £6.5million at Lloyds.
He was knighted in the Queen’s birthday honours for his services to the British economy and for mental health awareness.
Credit Suisse said Horta-Osorio resigned following an investigation commissioned by the board and that board member Axel Lehmann had become its chairman with immediate effect.
Justin Tang, head of Asian research at investment adviser United First Partners in Singapore, said: ‘It has been in the “damaged goods” section for a while now.
‘While Horta was responsible for the new strategy, his short tenure means that the revamp is likely to only be in the nascent stages.
Wimbledon was held again last year but with a reduced capacity amid the pandemic
Tennis fan: Credit Suisse boss Antonio Horta-Osorio (right) with Portuguese Davis Cup star Joao Lagos in an old picture, date unknown
Banking boss Antonio Horta-Osório and the challenges he has overseen
Born in Lisbon, Antonio Horta-Osório graduated in Management and Business Administration from the Catholic University of Portugal.
He soon joined Citibank in Portugal before going on to join Goldman Sachs in New York City.
The banker later moved to Brazil and became CEO of Banco Santander Brazil and chairman of the Santander Group in Brazil.
Shortly after he became the vice president of Banco Santander in Spain.
In 2011, he was appointed CEO of Lloyds banking group.
The banking boss joined the group when it had just been rescued by the government in the 2007-09 financial crisis, and was able to steer it fully into private hands in 2017.
In 2019, Mr Horta-Osório’s was hit by a surge of complaints regarding mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) in 2019.
The following year the banking giant saw a 26 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £4.4bn after it was forced to pay out billions of pounds its customers in PPI compensation.
Speaking at the time Mr Horta-Osório said: ‘The group’s statutory performance was impacted by a substantial PPI charge related to the deadline for claims submission.’
In the same year, the Lloyds banking group was hit by a wave of criticism for the way it had handled a a multi-million pound scam at an HBOS branch.
The banking group, who took over the branch in 2008, apologised for the problems found and Mr Horta-Osorio promised to implement the recommendations of an independent report.
In 2017, the Lloyds Banking Group said it would slash its boss’s pay by £228,000 after it was revealed he had been paid £51.4million in total since becoming chief executive in 2011.
‘The irony of it is that Horta was hired to fix the reputational damage to Credit Suisse and revamp its risk taking culture in the bank.’
In December a preliminary internal bank investigation had found that Horta-Osorio attended the Wimbledon tennis finals in London in July without following Britain’s quarantine rules.
Horta-Osorio also broke COVID-19 rules on a visit to Switzerland in November by leaving the country during a 10-day quarantine period, the bank said in December.
Public scrutiny of the actions of politicians and athletes has increased amid COVID-19 curbs as governments push to get their population vaccinated.
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday after a court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status.
And Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to resign after admitting he attended staff drinks during the May 2020 lockdown.
After Credit Suisse said Horta-Osorio had broken COVID-19 rules in late November, David Herro, deputy chairman at Harris, the third biggest investor in the bank, said the chairman still retained his absolute support.
Credit Suisse said on Monday that Lehmann, the board and the executive board would continue to implement the bank’s strategy.
‘We have set the right course with the new strategy and will continue to embed a stronger risk culture,’ Lehmann, who was elected to the board in October, said in the bank’s statement.
Lehmann spent over 10 years at rival UBS, where his roles included helming its Swiss personal and corporate banking unit after nearly two decades at Zurich Insurance Group .
Reeling from a disastrous year, Credit Suisse posted a 21% fall in its third-quarter profit last year and warned of a loss for the final three months of 2021.
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, however posted its highest quarterly profit in six years in the third quarter.
Credit Suisse shares have shed 23% over the past one year, while UBS shares have soared 33% to their highest in four years.
Horta-Osorio’s sudden exit demoralised staff at Credit Suisse, with some questioning what was next for the bank.
‘What a waste and again we make the headlines for the wrong reason,’ a senior Credit Suisse private banker said on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to media.
‘In between we froze for one year waiting for the new strategy from the new man!’ he said.
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