Credit Suisse says its chairman has resigned following an internal investigation that revealed he had violated Covid-19 quarantine rules. Reports said that Antonio Horta-Osorio violated the rules to attend Wimbledon tournament. The resignation of Antonio Horta-Osorio, a British-Portuguese national who took the job barely eight months ago, was announced shortly after midnight Monday. It is the latest upheaval at the top-drawer Swiss bank that has faced an array of recent troubles, including bad bets on hedge funds and an internal spying scandal.
“I regret that a number of my personal actions have led to difficulties for the bank and compromised my ability to represent the bank internally and externally,” Horta-Osorio, 57, said in a statement from the bank, without elaborating. “I therefore believe that my resignation is in the interest of the bank and its stakeholders at this crucial time.” Axel Lehmann, a Swiss national and former executive at rival bank UBS who joined the Credit Suisse board in October, will take over as chairman.
Swiss media reported that Horta-Osorio, a former CEO of Lloyds Banking Group in Britain, had violated quarantine rules, including traveling to Britain in December and to the Wimbledon tennis tournament over the summer.
