'A proud history is drawing to an end': Credit Suisse bosses face furious investors at 167-year-old bank's final AGM

  • Axel Lehmann faced more than 1,700 furious investors 
  • Ulrich Koerner said he was 'deeply saddened' by the state of affairs
  • Koerner said that Credit Suisse 'no longer had a choice' but to be rescued by UBS

By CALUM MUIRHEAD FOR THE DAILY MAIL

Updated:

Axel Lehmann faced more than 1,700 furious investors at the cavernous arena where they had gathered to mark the passing of a fallen giant.

As criticism rained down on the chairman of collapsed bank Credit Suisse, he admitted: 'It is a sad day. For all of you, and for us. I am truly sorry.'

Held at Hallenstadion ice hockey arena in Zurich, it was the once-mighty institution's last annual general meeting. Anger filled the stadium following the bank's emergency takeover by bitter rival UBS last month. 

Protesters gathered outside, with some capsizing a boat named 'Crisis Suisse' to signify the bank's demise.

Axel Lehmann faced more than 1,700 furious investors at Credit Suisse's last AGM on Tuesday

Axel Lehmann faced more than 1,700 furious investors at Credit Suisse's last AGM on Tuesday

One shareholder said: 'It is not acceptable that people who can drive a bank into the ground do not go to jail.

'It cannot be that directors and executives who have driven this bank into the ground over the years get to keep their salaries and their bonuses.' Another said shareholders have had 'everything stolen from them'.

And one angry investor held up a bag of walnuts and said: 'A bag of these is worth about one share.' Yet another stormed the stage at the arena wearing a T-shirt that declared: 'Stop the rip-off.'

Acknowledging that the collapse had caused 'bitterness, anger and shock' for many, Lehmann told investors: 'I apologise that we were no longer able to stem the loss of trust that had accumulated over the years, and for disappointing you.'

He was joined on stage by chief executive Ulrich Koerner who said he was 'deeply saddened' by the state of affairs. 

He said while 'good progress' had been made with its turnaround plans, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the US triggered a 'dramatic loss of confidence' in the global financial system at a time when Credit Suisse was 'particularly vulnerable'.

Turning to its rescue by UBS, Koerner said that Credit Suisse 'no longer had a choice'.

Bankruptcy, he said, would have been 'catastrophic not just for Switzerland but for the global economy'.

'Ladies and gentleman, I share your disappointment,' he said.

'After 167 years, Credit Suisse is giving up its independence. A proud and, at times, turbulent company history is drawing to an end and something new is being created.'

Rocking the boat: Protesters at Credit Suisse’s AGM in Zurich

Rocking the boat: Protesters at Credit Suisse’s AGM in Zurich

The comments did little to placate the audience as a long line of shareholders used a volatile question-and-answer session to vent their frustration.

Attempts to put a time limit on the questions were met with heckles and jeers.

'Political masters have been dozing on the job for the last 15 years,' said Guido Roethlisberger, a shareholder who wore a red tie 'to represent the fact that I and many others are seeing red today'. 

Another said that if a similar event had occurred in medieval times, Credit Suisse bosses 'could have been crucified' and that eventually they would be 'confronted by the Almighty God'.

Shareholder Christine Renaudin, a lawyer, called on the country's banking sector to adopt a code of ethics so lessons could be learned from Credit Suisse's failure, suggesting her draft be delivered to incoming UBS boss Sergio Ermotti, who has been charged with leading the integration of the two banks. 

A protestor at Credit Suisse AGM

A protestor at Credit Suisse AGM

Others called for more detail into the circumstances of the takeover by UBS, which was hurriedly cobbled together by the Swiss authorities last month as Credit Suisse teetered on the brink of collapse.

The Q&A gave way to a fractious vote on several resolutions, including a ballot on the company's executive pay package.

Investors in both UBS and Credit Suisse were denied a say on the cut-price £2.6billion takeover, which is being probed by Swiss prosecutors to find out whether government officials, regulators and executives at the banks broke the law.

Credit Suisse had become a perennially troubled lender following a series of scandals and was already battling to recover after a £99billion exodus of funds at the end of last year pushed it into a £6.5billion annual loss.

The firm began to wobble again after the collapse of SVB but was pushed over the edge after the then-chairman of its biggest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, said it would not put in any more funds, triggering a plunge in its share price.

That prompted the so-called 'shotgun marriage' with UBS, orchestrated by the Swiss government and other officials.

Some think the deal will prove a huge success for UBS. It is likely to prove less happy for many of the 120,000 employees of the combined group – 11,000 of them in the UK – amid reports the tie-up could result in as many as 30 per cent of jobs being cut.

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