Credit Suisse chair resigns after investigation into travel during pandemic, conduct

Credit Suisse announced on Monday that its chairman resigned after an internal investigation reportedly found that he had violated COVID-19 quarantine rules. 

“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,” António Horta-Osório, who had been in the position for roughly eight months prior to his resignation, said in a statement from the company on Monday.

“I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time,” he added.

The 57-year-old British-Portuguese national will be replaced by Axel Lehmann, who has been a member of the Credit Suisse board since October. Lehmann, a Swiss national, was previously an executive at UBS, one of its rivals, according to The Associated Press.

Horta-Osório’s violation of quarantine rules reportedly included traveling to Britain in December and to the Wimbledon tennis tournament over the summer, the AP reported, citing Swiss media. 

Leo-Philippe Menzel, who is spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office in St. Gallen, a region in Switzerland, also confirmed to the AP that the office was notified by Horta-Osório that he may have violated COVID-19 rules. Menzel added that the office’s investigation into the matter was ongoing.

The resignation comes after Credit Suisse has endured other issues recently, like poor bets on hedge funds and an internal spying scheme, according to the wire service.

In October, the bank also announced settlements of nearly $700 million with British and U.S. authorities as a result of lending to state-owned companies in Mozambique accused by Swiss regulators of violating rules against money laundering, the AP noted.