Bank Leader Resigns Over COVID Breach

Credit Suisse Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio reportedly traveled despite quarantine rules
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 17, 2022 10:25 AM CST
Bank Leader Resigns Over COVID Breach
Antonio Horta-Osorio has resigned from Credit Suisse.   (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Credit Suisse said Monday that its chairman has resigned following an internal investigation that reportedly found he violated quarantine rules intended to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, per the AP. The resignation of Antonio Horta-Osorio, a British-Portuguese national who took the job barely eight months ago, was announced shortly after midnight Monday. It's the latest upheaval at the top-drawer Swiss bank that has faced an array of recent troubles, including bad bets on hedge funds and an internal spying scandal.

"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," Horta-Osorio, 57, said in a statement. Axel Lehmann, a Swiss national and former executive at rival bank UBS who joined the Credit Suisse board in October, will take over as chairman. Swiss media reported Monday that Horta-Osorio, a former CEO of Lloyds Banking Group in Britain, had violated quarantine rules, including traveling to Britain in December and to the Wimbledon tennis tournament over the summer.

The resignation comes after another tough year for Credit Suisse. In October, it announced settlements totaling nearly $700 million with British and US authorities over lending to Mozambique state-owned companies that Swiss regulators say violated anti-money laundering rules. The Swiss financial markets authority in April announced an investigation and is looking into possible penalties against Credit Suisse after the bank announced it was taking a 4.4 billion Swiss franc ($4.7 billion) charge linked to a default on margin calls by US-based Archegos Capital.

(More Credit Suisse stories.)

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