Glass Lewis opposes re-election of Credit Suisse’s risk chairman
Proxy adviser Glass Lewis has called on Credit Suisse shareholders to oppose the re-election of board member Andreas Gottschling amid the Greensill and Archegos fallout.
The Swiss bank has been mired in controversy in recent weeks due to its exposure to Archegos Capital Management which failed to meet its margin commitments.
It came shortly after the bank was forced to suspend a $10bn suite of Greensill-backed funds before the firm filed for insolvency. It swiftly replaced the chief executive of its asset management business over growing scrutiny.
Now Glass Lewis has called on the bank’s shareholders to vote against the re-election of Gottschling on the grounds that he should be held accountable for the bank’s recent issues as chairman of the risk committee.
“To regain shareholder trust in light of the substantial financial and reputational damage that the company is facing as a result of the aforementioned matters, shareholders would be better served by a change in leadership of the risk committee,” Glass Lewis said in a report published today.
“While we note that the supply chain finance funds and US-based hedge fund matters…have only emerged in recent weeks and that investigations are likely still in preliminary stages, we believe that these issues cast significant doubt on the efficacy of the board’s oversight of the Company’s risk and control framework,” the proxy adviser added.
Earlier today the bank said it is set to pay out another $1.7bn of funds linked to Greensill bringing the total distribution to $4.8bn.
“We remain acutely aware of the uncertainty that the wind-down process creates for those of our clients who are invested in the funds,” Credit Suisse said. “We are doing everything that we can to provide them with clarity, to work through issues as they arise and, ultimately, to return cash to them.”