Top banker ousted in spying scandal
Tidjane Thiam quits Credit Suisse after power struggle
ONE of the world’s most highprofile bankers has quit in the wake of a spying scandal.
Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam lost a power struggle with his chairman Urs Rohner, which escalated after it emerged that two senior executives had been placed under surveillance.
These included Thiam’s heir apparent Iqbal Khan – the bank’s highflying former head of wealth management – who was tailed through the streets of Zurich last year.
The bank claimed this was a one-off, but it later transpired that former head of resources Peter Goerke was followed for several days in February by private detectives also hired by the firm. The scandal, which has rocked the normally staid world of Swiss banking, has already culminated in the firing of two senior executives, and the suicide of a contractor used by Credit Suisse to hire private investigators to track Khan.
Thiam, 57, insisted he knew nothing about any of this. But the revelation that a second executive had been tailed triggered a determined campaign by Rohner to oust him.
Earlier this week Thiam appeared to have gained the upper hand after several major shareholders in Credit Suisse gave him their backing.
Ethos Foundation, a prominent investment adviser and shareholder in the bank, also called for 60-year-old Rohner to quit. But it was Thiam who fell on his sword, as the bank announced the board had ‘unanimously accepted’ his resignation.
Speaking to Swiss radio, Rohner said Thiam’s departure was needed to maintain the bank’s credibility and insisted that there was no ill feeling between the two.
He said: ‘At some point we realised that we couldn’t get out of this situation unless we made a change, and Tidjane Thiam understood that too.’
Thiam, a French- Ivorian who became Britain’s first black FTSE 100 chief executive in his previous job as boss of insurer Prudential, said: ‘I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues.
‘It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt.
‘I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.’
He added he was ‘proud’ of what he and his team had achieved during his five-year tenure.
Thiam is being replaced by Swiss banking veteran Thomas Gottstein, who has spent 20 years at the bank and latterly has been running its domestic business.
despite forcing Thiam out, Rohner issued a gushing tribute to him. He said: ‘Tidjane has made an enormous contribution to Credit Suisse since he joined us in 2015. It is to his credit that Credit Suisse is standing on a very solid foundation and has returned successfully to profit.’
The bank will hope Thiam’s departure will enable it to turn a new page, after being engulfed in the spying scandal since September last year.
Khan, who had a bitter feud with Thiam, discovered he had been placed under surveillance during a shopping trip with his wife.
The couple were chased by foot and car through the streets of
Zurich, culminating in a confrontation with private investigators behind the Swiss National Bank.
It emerged that the bank had set sleuths upon him while he was on gardening leave before taking a top job at arch rival UBS.
An investigation by a law firm cleared Thiam of any wrongdoing and concluded that the firm’s chief operating officer Pierre- Olivier Bouee ‘ acted alone’ when he instructed global head of security Remo Boccali to appoint private detectives. Both men were fired.
Thiam will leave next Friday after presenting Credit Suisse’s annual results.