That says ex-president and Mister CS Walter Kielholz

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Credit Suisse has been history for two and a half months. UBS officially takes over CS on June 12th. Walter Kielholz is now commenting on the end of “his” bank for the first time. For the former president and “Mister CS” it is clear who is to blame for the collapse of the second largest bank in Switzerland.

Former CS President Walter B. Kielholz (right) speaks for the first time about the end of

Former CS President Walter B. Kielholz (right) speaks for the first time about the end of “his” bank. Also in the archive image: Sergio Ermotti.

Sandra Ardizzone

He was President of Credit Suisse for many years and a member of the Board of Directors of the major Swiss bank for much longer. While all the CEOs came and went, Walter B. Kielholz simply remained “Mister CS”.

But then the number 2 had to be taken over by UBS in an emergency in the spring – the number 1 in the local banking center. CS was no longer able to survive and had lost the trust of its customers. Of course, many questions came up for “Mister CS”. how could it get so far?

UBS takes over on June 12 – shares are delisted

In addition, the Swiss stock exchange announced on Monday that Credit Suisse shares would last be traded on the SIX on June 12. After that, the registered shares of Credit Suisse Group AG with a nominal value of CHF 0.04 are to be delisted. As UBS writes, the CS shares are also to be taken off the New York Stock Exchange. (sat)

Now Walter B. Kielholz speaks – about the emergency takeover and how it could have happened. On Whit Monday he gave his first interview to the Tamedia newspapers – this was printed on Monday.

Here are the most important statements of the former “Mister CS”:

How could the CS go under?

The former president sees two points for the decline of Credit Suisse, as he says: the departure of António Horta-Osório after his violation of the corona quarantine regulations in 2022. The Portuguese-British CEO was “an excellent operational bank boss”. But “I found the spectacle that the bank offered there simply embarrassing in terms of reputation,” says Kielholz.

And then, last fall, a rescue plan was presented by the last head of Credit Suisse that “was never properly implemented.”

At the beginning of the year, the bank had no chance in a “perfect storm” as a result of “operational errors of a grosser nature”, rising interest rates and the collapse of two US banks. Walter Kielholz:

“It was over then.”

Who is to blame for the collapse of the second largest bank in Switzerland?

On the fact that the bank had already had to accept billions in write-offs in previous years (and also since last autumn) due to poor management decisions, says Walter Kielholz: “Of course it should never have happened like this.”

In retrospect, the former president also severely criticizes the culture of the bank and management in dealing with their own mistakes: “They then replaced the relevant people. And yet you couldn’t get out of it.”

So what does the competition do better?

The continuity in the staff of the large banks in the USA, which CS had always taken as a model, is much greater. Their top people are each “ten years and more at the wheel,” says Walter Kielholz. “This stability is extremely important.”

Is the “FDP-Felt” to blame for the bank’s downfall?

Since the emergency takeover, there has also been a political search for culprits in Switzerland. On the evening of the UBS-CS deal, the SVP criticized the alleged “FDP-felt” at Credit Suisse.

And later doubled the old Federal Councilor and SVP doyen Christoph Blocher. Accordingly, “the misery of CS” began much earlier, namely “in the 90s. Actually under Rainer E. Gut and his successor Kielholz.» According to Blocher, they were appointed by CEOs Brady Dougan and Tidjane Thiam together with Urs Rohner. It was these two bank bosses who “driven CS to its demise over the last fifteen years. It’s just the old FDP stuff, »says Blocher.

“Mr. Blocher and I were never great friends,” says Walter Kielholz. As a liberal, he was repeatedly committed to his party and in particular to the Zurich section, which had long been discredited nationally as a «Zurich economic liberal». In addition, the ex-CS president is considered an advocate of EEA accession – and was one of Blocher’s opponents during his political rise.

“When I heard that, I was looking for this ominous FDP felt, it probably needs at least three people. I haven’t found a single FDPler in a crucial CS post. Who should it have been?”

Moreover, Rainer E. Gut is a CVPler, adds Walter Kielholz. And Urs Rohner was “a well-known lawyer and Pro-Sieben boss” when he joined Oswald Grübel for CS.

So who is really to blame for the CS downfall?

Anyway, Urs Rohner. In the public perception, he has recently been regarded as the main culprit in CS’s own mess, in which the bank ultimately went under. Walter Kielholz simply calls this a “steep thesis”:

“The board of directors of the bank has proposed him for re-election every year. And the shareholders have re-elected him every year. A lot of people obviously disagreed.”

The personnel decision for Rohner was already 14 years ago, according to Walter Kielholz. But: “I can still justify my support from that point of view today.”

Does Walter Kielholz also see his own mistakes?

When asked several times, Walter B. Kielholz says that of course he also sees faults in himself. Albeit not decisive ones that have now led to the downfall of the CS. “Our mistake was that we didn’t set a limit for the bonuses.”

However, they “simply didn’t expect (…) that we could be so much better than the others” and Brady Dougan had to pay a bonus of around 70 million in the end. In retrospect, Kielholz goes one step further: “You should have simply said: We won’t pay for that.” Today he thinks Dougan would have accepted that. “Unfortunately, we didn’t take advantage of this opportunity.”

What is Kielholz’s relationship with Credit Suisse today?

“I haven’t had any confidential information since I left the Board of Directors in 2014,” says Walter Kielholz. And since he left, he has “no longer played a role” at the bank – although his name is still mentioned inseparably with that of the bank.

And so on Sunday, March 19, 2023, he and his wife had to sit in front of the television to find out what was happening to “his” big bank. Namely the forced sale to the competitor UBS by the federal government, the National Bank and the banking supervisory authority.

And the former “Mister CS” goes on to say about this historic TV evening:

“Then I lost the ground under my feet for a moment.”

After serving on the board of directors at CS (1991 to 2014, including chairman from 2003 to 2009), Walter B. Kielholz moved to reinsurer Swiss Re as chairman. The 72-year-old chaired its board of directors from 2009 to 2021 and was then appointed honorary chairman.

Incidentally, Sergio Ermotti was chosen as Kielzolz’s successor at Swiss Re at the time – the former, long-standing head of UBS from Ticino. In the meantime, however, he has already given up his position as president of the reinsurer and has returned to the banking business as the new CEO of the merged UBS-Credit-Suisse.



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