After a 31-year stint at the Swiss bank, Eric Varvel reportedly faces the specter of having to return some of his pay.
Departing Credit Suisse banker Eric Varvel may have to return up to $10 million of bonus payments, the «Financial Times» (behind paywall) reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of Varvel's exit package.
The report comes one day after CEO Thomas Gottstein praised the Credit Suisse veteran in an email to employees announcing his departure from the bank.
Demotion After Greensill
Financial clawbacks are not common in Swiss banking, however, in recent months the bank has stressed that its remuneration aims to be more closely linked to shareholder interests.
Varvel in April was demoted from his position as head of asset management. He had championed the Greensill supply chain funds, which blew up blocking $10 billion in client funds.
«Toxic» Bonus Pool
In more than 30 years at Credit Suisse or CSFB, Varvel likely did well financially: he has variously overseen its Asian activities, its investment bank, and most recently its overall activities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His pay was never disclosed.
Varvel was one of a cohort of bankers under ex-CEO Brady Dougan who benefited from a plan to wrap Credit Suisse's undesirable assets following the 2008/09 financial crisis into a bonus pool. The Swiss bank backstopped the first $500 million in losses from the fund's assets, which later reportedly gained as much as 75 percent by 2012.
