ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Vice Chair Severin Schwan faces opposition to his re-election to the board of the embattled Swiss lender, The Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Some investors said they will try to block any move to extend the tenure of the Roche chief executive, who has been vice chair at Credit Suisse since April 2017.
The investors were not named by the paper, which said they belonged to the 10 biggest shareholders in Credit Suisse.
Having joined the bank’s board in 2014, Schwan is also the lead independent director. During his stint, Credit Suisse’s share price has slumped by 64% after it became embroiled in a string of scandals and losses.
Schwan had intended to leave before the bank’s annual meeting in April, the newspaper said, citing three people familiar with the matter.
But he has been asked by other board members to reconsider his departure to maintain stability under the new chair, Axel Lehmann, who took charge last month following the abrupt departure of Antonio Horta-Osorio following breaches of coronavirus quarantine rules.
The FT said investors had serious concerns about Schwan’s ability to lead pharmaceuticals and diagnostics group Roche while also acting as the bank’s vice-chair.
“If he’s up for election there will be a fight,” one top 10 shareholder told the FT.
“His role as Roche CEO does not benefit Credit Suisse . . . he should (leave Credit Suisse) and go on to another board,” another top 10 shareholder told the newspaper.
The bank, which releases its annual results on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Roche.
Schwan is undecided whether he will stand for re-election at the bank’s shareholder meeting in April 29, he told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger in January.
“In any case, the task now is to stabilise the bank, and I am happy to support the new chairman in this,” he added.
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Michael Shields)
