António Horta-Osório resigned as president of Swiss credit after repeated breaches of coronavirus quarantine rules dealt a fatal blow to his promise to restore the reputation of the scandal-hit bank.
The 57-year-old’s departure follows a board investigation that found the former CEO of Lloyds Banking Group had broken quarantine rules, including a trip to London last year to watch the tennis finals of Wimbledon.
The investigation, which ended last week, also cited an incident in which Horta-Osório he used the bank’s private jet for a personal vacation to the Maldives, according to a person with knowledge of his findings.
Horta-Osório held talks over the weekend with the bank’s board of directors, headed by the main independent director, Severin Schwan, about his decision to resign, according to people briefed on the talks.
“I regret that some of my personal actions have caused difficulties for the bank and have compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally,” he said. Horta-Osório. “I believe my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time.”
The sudden departure is a great embarrassment for Swiss credit, which recruited the Portuguese banker to help reset its strategy after scandals related to Greensill Capital and the family office Archegos they damaged the bank’s reputation for risk management and raised questions about its leadership.
Axel Lehmann, former COO and head of UBS’s Swiss operation, has been appointed as the bank’s new president, reported Swiss credit. He joined the bank’s board of directors in October.
Andrew Coombs, Analist of Citigroup, said “(Horta-Osório) will become a brief footnote in the long history of Swiss credit”, but added that “his departure leaves Swiss credit with a lack of strong characters at the top and leadership issues are probably going to come up.”
Lehmann he intends to continue with the new group strategy and does not plan major changes within the executive ranks.
“We are in constant dialogue with shareholders,” Lehmann told Financial Times. “I am very confident that the shareholders will accept the decision of Antonio and the board of directors, and will give the management team the necessary support that is required.”
The actions of Swiss credit they fell 2.3 percent yesterday, making them down almost a quarter in the last 12 months.
Swiss proxy investment adviser, Ethos Foundation, which represents Swiss pension funds that own about 5 percent of the bank’s shares, welcomed the resignation, and its chief executive, Vincent Kaufman, said that the president must guarantee that “his activities and his attitude are beyond reproach”.
However, the output of Horta-Osório, who earned plaudits during his decade at the helm of Lloyds, did not obtain the universal support of the shareholders, since david herro, vice president of US asset manager Harris Associates, one of the bank’s top five investors, said the resignation left him “speechless”.
“We are very disappointed by the departure of António Horta-Osório from Swiss credit given his talent and the restructuring plan he initiated. We remain hopeful that, with the various improvements in the administration Swiss credit it will not only be strengthened, but revitalized.”
Horta-Osório was found guilty of violating the quarantine rules of United Kingdom when he flew to London and then attended the Wimbledon tennis finals on July 10 and 11. At the time, Switzerland was on the “amber” list of nations with restrictions, in which travelers must self-isolate for 10 days upon arrival.
In a later incident, Horta-Osório broke Swiss covid-19 regulations by entering and leaving the country in three days. had traveled from London a Zurich on November 28, shortly after it was introduced to Swiss a 10-day quarantine requirement upon identification of the omicron variant.
Horta-Osório apologized for the “mistake” and called the violation “unintentional.” However, the Swiss newspaper view He reported that he initially sought exemptions, but was told that he would not receive any special treatment and that he must isolate himself for the 10 days.
According to a person close to Horta-Osório, the former president used the bank’s corporate plane for a stopover in the Maldives after a business trip in Asia.
Since he became president, Horta-Osório, who was knighted in honors of the birthday of the Queen Isabel in June last year, he spoke of his “commitment to developing a culture of personal responsibility and accountability” at the bank.
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