Credit Suisse faces fresh scrutiny over culture after client data

LONDON — Credit Suisse is facing fresh scrutiny from Swiss regulators and the European Parliament after leaked data purported to show the bank had served human rights abusers, corrupt politicians and businessmen under sanctions for decades.

The Swiss bank has denied any wrongdoing and said it “strongly rejects” the allegations published by dozens of global media outlets following a coordinated investigation. The leak of client data was initially sent to a German newspaper before being picked up by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and 46 other news organizations.

Credit Suisse said the ensuing report, entitled “Suisse Secrets,” detailed “predominantly historical” matters and was based on “partial, inaccurate, or selective information taken out of context, resulting in tendentious interpretations of the bank’s business conduct.”

“Approximately 90% of the reviewed accounts are today closed or were in the process of closure prior to receipt of the press inquiries, of which over 60% were closed before 2015.

Swiss regulator FINMA said it was aware of the articles, though couldn’t comment on individual media reports.

“We can confirm that we are in contact with the bank in this context. Compliance with money laundering regulations has been a focus of our supervisory activities for years now. We refer to FINMA’s measures and procedures in the context of combating money laundering in recent years,” FINMA added.

Meanwhile, the European People’s Party (EPP) — the conservative grouping commanding the largest number of seats in the European Parliament — on Monday urged the European Commission to “re-evaluate Switzerland as a high-risk money-laundering country,” suggesting it could be included on the EU’s blacklist for countries notorious for laundering dirty money.

“The ‘Swiss Secrets’ findings point to massive shortcomings of Swiss banks when it comes to the prevention of money laundering,” said Markus Ferber, the EPPs coordinator on economic affairs.

“When Swiss banks fail to apply international anti-money laundering standards properly, Switzerland itself becomes a high-risk jurisdiction.”

In its recent earnings report and in the aftermath of the resignation of its former chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio – who was found to have broken Covid-19 quarantine rules on multiple occasions – Switzerland’s second-largest bank had emphasized focus on overhauling its corporate culture.

The bank was burned badly by litigation costs in the fourth quarter of 2021 as the fallout continued over its involvement with collapsed U.S. hedge fund Archegos Capital and insolvent supply chain finance company Greensill.

This resulted in Credit Suisse setting aside “major litigation provisions of 1.1 billion Swiss francs ($1.2 billion) and posting a full-year net loss of 1.57 billion Swiss francs for 2021.