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Credit Suisse ex-chairman says owes nothing after debacle

The former chairman of Credit Suisse says he never received any bonus and owes nothing following the scandal-plagued bank’s emergency sale to UBS, a Swiss newspaper reported Tuesday.

Urs Rohner’s decade-long tenure was mired in a series of controversies, including the bank’s exposure to the collapses of investment firms Archegos and Greensill in the last year of his chairmanship in 2021.

Already roiled by past scandals, Credit Suisse shares sank earlier this month over concerns of contagion from the failures of three US regional banks, leading to its government-engineered buyout by Swiss rival UBS.

Pressures is growing for Credit Suisse bosses to be held to account and return their bonuses in light of the bank’s failings.

Rohner’s spokesman told the CH Media newspaper group that the former chairman received his payments regardless of the bank’s results.

“As chairman of the board, he did not get a bonus, which is why there is nothing to reimburse,” the spokesman said.

Rohner voluntarily turned down a total of five million Swiss francs ($5.5 million) that he was owed as part of his pay package between 2014 and 2021, the spokesman added.

CH Media reported that Rohner was paid around 52 million francs during his tenure.

A recent poll showed a majority of Swiss people reject the UBS-Credit Suisse deal and blame the bank’s leadership for the outcome.

The Swiss parliament is planning a special session on Credit Suisse in April. It is also exploring whether to create an investigative committee to determine who was responsible for the debacle.

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