Credit Suisse Takes $4.7 Billion Archegos Hit, Replaces Warner
(Bloomberg) —
Credit Suisse Group AG will take a 4.4 billion franc ($4.7 billion) writedown tied to the implosion of Archegos Capital Management and replace more than half a dozen executives in response to the firmās worst trading debacle in more than a decade.
The charge will result in a pretax loss of about 900 million francs for the first quarter, the bank said in a statement Tuesday, putting it on track for its second straight net loss. Credit Suisse scrapped bonuses for top executives, cut its dividend and suspended share buybacks to protect its capital. Investment bank head Brian Chin and Chief Risk Officer Lara Warner are leaving.
Chief Executive Officer Thomas Gottstein vowed he will draw āserious lessonsā as the Archegos loss and the collapse of Greensill Capital last month leave him with little room for further missteps. The firm is the worst-performing major bank stock in the world this year as a strong first two months for its investment bank business are being overshadowed by its exposure to the failed firms.
āI recognize that these cases have caused significant concern amongst all our stakeholders,ā Gottstein said Tuesday. āTogether with the board of directors, we are fully committed to addressing these situations. Serious lessons will be learned.ā
Credit Suisse fell 0.5% at 9:12 a.m. in Zurich trading. The stock is down more than 11% this year, compared with an 18% gain at local rival UBS Group AG.
In addition to the Archegos writedown, the bank may need to set aside 2 billion francs over the coming years for litigation tied to Greensill, analysts Kian Abouhossein and Amit Ranjan at JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote in a note.
āThe long-term consequences will be felt in the bank over timeā as Credit Suisse needs to prioritize capital preservation over growth, the analysts wrote.
Chin and Warner are the highest-ranking executives to leave over the twin hits. Gottstein earlier removed Eric Varvel from his role running asset management after Greensillās downfall. In a memo to staff Monday, Credit Suisse also announced at least five other departures, including equities trading chief Paul Galietto.
Christian Meissner, the former Bank of America Corp. executive who joined Credit Suisse in October, will take over from Chin next month. Joachim Oechslin will become risk chief in the interim, a role he held until 2019 when Warner took over. Thomas Grotzer was named interim head of compliance.
The bank cut its dividend proposal for 2020 to 10 centimes a share, from about 29 centimes, and suspended its share buyback until its common equity Tier 1 ratio, a key measure of capital strength, returns to the targeted level. Credit Suisse said it expects a CET1 ratio of at least 12% in the first quarter. It had aimed for at least 12.5% in the first half of this year.
Chairman Urs Rohner offered to forgo his compensation for 2020 of 1.5 million francs and bonuses for the executive board have been scrapped for that year.
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:
Credit Suisseās buyback pause and reduced dividend to get its capital position back on track isnāt the cure-all for its financial woes, though may fall short of more bearish fears. Our near-term concerns remain the fallout from Greensill costs, knock-on revenue dents to its prime and asset-management units and elevated control costs, along with lingering regulatory and legal challenges.
— Alison Williams, BI banking analyst
Credit Suisse Payout Pause Wonāt Halt Archegos Fallout: React
The Zurich-based bank was one of several global investment banks to facilitate the leveraged bets of Archegos, the family office of former hedge fund manager Bill Hwang. But while many other firms that had prime brokerage relationships with Archegos unloaded their positions with minimal damage, Credit Suisse was caught with major losses. The Swiss bank sold $2.3 billion worth of stocks tied to Archegos earlier this week, a person familiar with the matter said.
Startup lender Greensill Capital had borrowed from the bank and helped manage about $10 billion of debt funds for Credit Suisse asset management clients that the Swiss firm had marketed as among its safest products. Now the funds are frozen and being wound down after Lex Greensillās firm collapsed amid doubts about its lending practices.
Credit Suisse said it will provide an update on the funds in the ānext few days.ā
Gottstein took over in February 2020 in the wake of a spying scandal that took down his predecessor and pledged a clean slate for 2021 after legacy issues marred his first year. Instead, heās been overwhelmed by repeated lapses in oversight.
(Adds shares in fifth paragraph, analyst comments from sixth.)
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