Credit Suisse’s Paul Dexter Departs Firm After Intern Investigation

(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG said senior banker Paul Dexter is no longer with the firm after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior with an intern.

Dexter, a managing director in the merger and acquisitions group, has left the firm, said Karina Byrne, a spokeswoman in New York. The investment bank dismissed Dexter after the investigation revealed previous instances of inappropriate behavior, according to a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing personnel issues.

"We have robust escalation policies and channels in place through which complaints about conduct can be reported by employees, and we encourage all employees to do so," Byrne said. "Where complaints arise, they are thoroughly investigated and, where called for, consequences are appropriately handled.”

The bank said last week that Dexter, whom it didn’t name at the time, wasn’t expected to face punishment. Credit Suisse said its investigation was wrapping up and “serious allegations in the complaint were not substantiated.” Those comments from the bank further roiled some of its staff who were already unhappy with the Swiss bank’s handling of the situation, according to people familiar with the investigation.

Dexter couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

Dexter was previously removed from a Credit Suisse recruiting team for inappropriate conduct, a matter that the investigating team wasn’t aware of when it began its probe, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

The incident that sparked the investigation was reported by Dealbreaker last month. It involved Dexter allegedly touching an intern in a physically intimidating way, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Workplace behavior has become the latest flashpoint in a culture change sweeping across Wall Street and other industries, where employers as well are facing scrutiny on their handling of violations that previously went unpunished. The change has been sparked by the revelation of a series of high profile sexual harassment cases across industries.

A senior Credit Suisse banker instructed those at the event not to discuss the matter publicly to maintain confidentiality, said one of the people. That only served to further inflame tensions because it was perceived as an attempt to quash the matter, the people said. One of the people said it was not intended to silence the matter but to allow the investigation to proceed.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sridhar Natarajan in New York at snatarajan15@bloomberg.net;Gillian Tan in New York at gtan129@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson

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