The resignation of Chairman António Horta-Osório sets a precedent for Credit Suisse. The high-flyer's sudden departure underscores how heavily his missteps had weighed on the Swiss bank, finews.com finds. 

After a weekend of fevered negotiation, António Horta-Osório elected to step down from his job of fewer than nine months. «A number of my personal actions» led Horta-Osório, who turns 58 next week, to leave, he said, without getting into the details of repeatedly breaking COVID rules, in Britain and in Switzerland.

The irony of the Portuguese-British banker, who put taming Credit Suisse's free-wheeling culture at the heart of his reform agenda, is stumbling over his own, entirely avoidable cultural misstep. «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,» he conceded.

Disgraced Vs Conscience

Both elements – the resignation itself as well as the acknowledgment that Credit Suisse can't go on like this – set precedent after the ten-year era of Urs Rohner. The former Chairman, who left in disgrace in April, memorably insisted that «my vest is clean,» or his conscience is clear, after a $2.5 billion U.S. tax settlement in 2014. 

Credit Suisse's clients and employees are remembered «spygate,» the most recent scandal involving Credit Suisse's top executives and moral norms in business. Rohner originally argued that surveillance of a former top executive was an isolated incident. 

Morally Adrift 

An investigation by its regulator found Credit Suisse planned no less than seven such spy operations. «Spygate,» last year's double-whammy of Greensill then shortly after Archegos' $5 billion in losses, it is clear that Credit Suisse is not just operationally but also morally adrift.

Horta-Osório rightly pinpointed the culture of the Swiss lender, which traces its roots back to the mid-19th century and the development of Switzerland's railway infrastructure, as one of its problems. He also reminded Credit Suisse's nearly 48,000 employees that each of them needed to think like a risk manager.

Toxic For Credibility

This makes it all the more painful that Horta-Osório wasn't as precise when it came to his own actions: the COVID violations were toxic for his credibility. Clients as well as staff raged at the apparent double-standard, finews.com learned.

The age-old reflex at most of Credit Suisse's big investors was to simply wait for the crisis to recede – something Horta-Osório's board colleagues ultimately decided was not possible. 

Inevitable Break

Bad timing plagues his successor, Axel Lehmann: the Swiss banker has to continue Horta-Osório's momentum as Credit Suisse works through a slew of scandals, lawsuits, and regulatory problems, as finews.com detailed last month.

At the same time, the break with Horta-Osório represents a radical shift in Credit Suisse's thinking – if not yet its culture – that was inevitable. This at least offers hope for a genuine fresh start.