Former Credit score Suisse chief Tidjane Thiam defends his file

Former Credit score Suisse chief govt Tidjane Thiam has defended his file on the Swiss lender, regardless of the litany of crises which have hammered the financial institution since his departure.

Shares within the group hit a 30-year low on Tuesday morning, extending their decline to greater than 35 per cent because the financial institution introduced a radical restructuring and SFr4bn capital increase final month.

A yr after Thiam left Credit score Suisse in 2020 following a dangerous company espionage scandal, the financial institution was compelled to shut $10bn of provide chain finance funds linked to the defunct firm Greensill Capital. It was additionally hit with a $5.5bn buying and selling loss — the most important in its 166-year historical past — tied to the implosion of household workplace Archegos.

“I used to be extraordinarily powerful and I’m fairly proud that none of that occurred beneath my watch,” stated Thiam, talking on the FT’s Banking Summit on Tuesday in one of many first instances he has talked publicly about his turbulent 5 years on the high of Credit score Suisse.

The financial institution’s lax tradition of danger administration has steadily been blamed for its failings — together with by former and present chairs António Horta-Osório and Axel Lehmann.

However the 60-year-old insisted he had recognized this as an issue and tried to handle it.

“Cultural points can’t be resolved in a single day,” stated Thiam. “We did what we did throughout 5 years. However [it takes] greater than 5 years to achieve that time.

“It is going to take loads of continued effort to cope with these points.”

In a wide-ranging interview, Thiam gave his views on subjects from the racist therapy he felt he acquired in Switzerland to the “good worth” at present to be present in investing within the Spac market.

Thiam was the primary black chief govt of a significant European financial institution and Credit score Suisse’s largest shareholder, Harris Associates, has claimed he was a sufferer of racism.

The financial institution apologised to Thiam in 2020 following a report within the New York Instances that included particulars of a celebration to have a good time former chair Urs Rohner’s birthday the place Thiam was current and a black performer dressed up as a janitor and different visitors wore Afro wigs.

“People who find themselves prejudiced say, oh he’s taking part in the racecard,” stated Thiam on the Banking Summit. “Sure segments of the German-speaking press in Zurich . . . waged a really poisonous and really efficient marketing campaign in opposition to me.”

Since leaving Credit score Suisse, Thiam has centered on a variety of pursuits, together with establishing a Spac, benefiting from a growth available in the market that has since imploded amid accusations that it gives poor returns for traders.

He defended the blank-cheque funding automobile, saying they at present supplied good worth to traders. “Phrases are being renegotiated and I feel that people who find themselves going into Spacs now will make good cash,” he stated.

Requested about his ideas on Credit score Suisse’s share worth, Thiam stated he was saddened by the financial institution’s present plight and felt “no schadenfreude”.

Credit score Suisse chair Lehmann is because of converse on the Banking Summit on Thursday morning.