As he was Credit Suisse AG Chairman, he felt compelled to express his regrets.
The Swiss bank has now acknowledged financial losses resulting from the liquidation of Archegos and Greensill after eight weeks of turmoil.
Rohner apologized for recent operational and financial setbacks on Friday at the bank's annual meeting, saying, "Those recent weeks have sullied the previous years for all time." This is sadly not the first time we've disappointed our customers, and they are probably disappointed with us as well. I mean no disrespect by this.
That was a more troubled departure for the former M&A lawyer who left Credit Suisse last year, who faced a coalition of shareholders who tried to have him dismissed after they found out he was involved in a hacking controversy. Over the decade, the bank's shares have fallen 73%, while rival bank UBS stock has fallen by 19%.
Incoming chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio commented that the latest setbacks at the Swiss bank have eclipsed the three-or-and-a-half decades of his previous experiences at banks. Following the twin bank failures, he promised to do a rigorous evaluation of the “strategic options”.
Several famous investors reportedly removed their support for the risk committee chairman, Andreas Gottschli, after the $5.5 billion fiasco with Archegos.
Any losses incurred by ArcheAge, the family office of US investor Bill Hwang, are more difficult to carry, due to Credit Suisse having a much higher position in the debt securities market. The situation has turned sour for Credit Suisse, which was beset by the Greensill Capital fiasco a short time ago, had to freeze investment funds just as it started a new one.
Rohner offered her regrets: “It's true, I particularly regret leaving the bank under these sad conditions, hard times. Of course, our employees feel hurt.”