Credit Suisse expected to announce Koerner as CEO, replacing Gottstein – sources

Credit Suisse Group AG is expected to announce Ulrich Koerner as its new chief executive officer, replacing Thomas Gottstein in a bid to shore up confidence in the bank, two sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. Pressure has been mounting on Gottstein for months over major scandals and losses racked up during his two-year tenure that have hammered shares and angered investors.

When Gottstein took the helm in 2020, he promised a “clean slate” for the bank, which was recovering from an internal spying scandal that cost his predecessor Tidjane Thiam his job. But troubles have only escalated. In 2021, the bank disclosed a $5.5 billion loss from the unraveling of U.S. investment firm Archegos and the collapse of $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds. The events prompted management ousters, investigations, and a capital increase – followed by further losses and fresh legal cases.

One of the sources said the bank was expected to announce the change in CEO on Wednesday along with its quarterly results. Credit Suisse brought in Koerner in April 2021 to lead its newly separated asset management division following the collapse of the $10 billion worth of supply chain finance funds linked to insolvent financier Greensill Capital.

Koerner returned to Credit Suisse from arch-rival U.S. where he most recently served as adviser to the CEO from 2019 to 2020. He ran UBS Asset Management from 2014 to 2019. Koerner was previously a senior executive at Credit Suisse Financial Services and ran the Swiss business. Koerner, who used to work for McKinsey, is considered a restructuring expert in Switzerland.

Credit Suisse declined to comment. The Financial Times, which earlier reported Koerner may take over, also reported that Christian Meissner, head of the lender’s investment bank, is planning to leave the group.

Meissner didn’t respond to requests for comment from Reuters This spring, Credit Suisse’s chairman Axel Lehmann reiterated his support for Gottstein after Artisan Partners, the bank’s ninth-largest shareholder, had publicly called for Gottstein to be replaced.

“I fully back him because he is good,” Lehmann said in a CNBC interview at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He dismissed as “rumors and speculations” talk that Gottstein could be on his way out. The WSJ earlier reported that Gottstein may soon be replaced, days after Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported the bank is considering further cost cuts.

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