The bitterness and anger of Credit Suisse shareholders. The bank, acquired in disaster by UBS, held its last general meeting in Zurich on Tuesday April 4. An appointment for not much, now that the establishment no longer really controls its destiny. But the small shareholders took the opportunity to take it out sharply on the management, accused of having allowed the second bank of Switzerland to sink.
With our correspondent in Geneva, Jeremiah Lance
Organized flight! You don’t deserve more than five francs salary. You should be in jail! How do you manage to sleep at night? This is, in essence, the type of compliments received by the boss of Credit Suisse, impassive during all the speeches of the small shareholders who succeeded one another on the platform of the Hallenstadion in Zurich, the largest multipurpose hall in the country.
Asked to apologize for the calamitous management of Credit Suisse, Axel Lehmann tried to make amends: We wanted to raise the bar with all our might, he said. But we ran out of time. This catastrophic week in March completely changed our plans. It hurts me. We disappointed you. And for that, I apologize. »
More than 1,700 shareholders had made the trip for this last general meeting. Some have lost everything now that Credit Suisse shares are worth only pennies. But the anger of small holders did not weigh very heavily against the resignation of large shareholders. Called to decide, the general meeting finally renewed the management of Credit Suisse until the takeover by UBS, which will hold its own general meeting on Wednesday. The climate should be a little less electric there.
►Also read: The Swiss National Prosecutor’s Office opens an investigation into the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS