More Investment Bank Scrutiny Under New Credit Suisse Chairman

• Credit Suisse Tallies Archegos Hit as Top Execs Exit
• Credit Suisse Senior Execs Face Exit After Archegos Losses

Credit Suisse chief executive Thomas Gottstein underlined greater scrutiny of its investment banking arm under incoming chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, adding that there will be 'no sacred cows'.

Antonio Horta-Osorio, income chairman, Credit Suisse

The scrutiny of Credit Suisse’s investment bank will be a «core strategic theme» under incoming chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio, according to a report by Swiss newspaper «Neue Zuercher Zeitung» citing CEOThomas Gottstein.

This follows a 4.4 billion Swiss franc ($4.7 billion) loss linked to the collapse ofBill Hwang’sfamily office Archegos and potential losses tied toLex Greensill’ssupply chain finance firm.

'No Sacred Cows'

Gottstein said that the bank will look to take out risk from certain parts of the investment bank, including the troubled prime services unit, stressing that there would be «no sacred cows» in the overhaul.

Notable exits that have already occurred as a result of the Archegos and Greensill debacles include chief risk officerLara Warnerand investment banking chiefBrian Chin.

Although Horta-Osorio is due to join from Lloyds Bank and succeed incumbent chairmanUrs Rohnerin a few weeks on April 29, there have already reportedly been calls for an immediate handover.

Less Face-to-Face, More Risks

According to Gottstein, risk management has become notably more difficult under the coronavirus era due in part to the the lack of face-to-face meetings.

«It’s a challenge to manage a global bank during a pandemic over Zoom,» Gottstein said, adding that he was convinced that the increased difficulty was applicable to other financial players such as banks or insurers.