Credit Suisse’s Surprise Chairman Exit Leaves Its Bankers Unfazed

(Bloomberg) -- The mood at Credit Suisse Group AG’s town hall on Monday, hours after its chairman quit in the bank’s latest drama, was described by some attendees as almost one of relief.

Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein was upbeat as he addressed staff about the future of Switzerland’s No. 2 bank. For the past nine months, the CEO had sometimes appeared a bystander as Antonio Horta-Osorio, a turnaround expert known for his hands-on attitude, vowed to restore confidence in a lender damaged by years of scandals and steep losses. 

Now the Portuguese banker was gone over a scandal of his own making, and in his place, Gottstein had gained a familiar Swiss executive. Half a dozen employees who attended the event, and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was a sense of relief that Horta-Osorio had accepted responsibility and their CEO was back in the saddle, along with former UBS Group AG banker Axel Lehmann as new chairman.

For Gottstein, the appointment of Lehmann indeed has some personal upside. The two have known each other for years and are well connected in Zurich’s notoriously close-knit business circles. Gottstein ran the Swiss unit at Credit Suisse before taking over as CEO, while Lehmann had the same role at rival UBS. 

Perhaps most importantly, the new chairman has signaled he’s opposed to selling Credit Suisse to a competitor, a scenario that had become the subject of increasing speculation as the bank stumbled from one scandal to the next. 

“We’re seeing the future of Credit Suisse as an independent bank,” he told Switzerland’s Der Bund in an interview.

Lehmann used his first day in the role also to reassure staff that their day-to-day wouldn’t change and that he is committed to the bank. He has so far said the right things and could help put to bed any infighting after multiple years of scandals and finger-pointing, said several bankers who attended the event.

Credit Suisse shares slumped 2.3% on Monday, suggesting investors are so far taking a different view. They dropped for a second day on Tuesday, down 1.4% as of 3:40 p.m. in Zurich.

But some bankers even saw a silver lining there: Last year, a flood of bad news sent the firm’s shares lower in the weeks after they were given stock awards. At least this year, it was happening before bonuses. 

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