‘A Swiss should run Credit Suisse’ ex-CS head tells newspaper
File photo of former Credit Suisse (and UBS) CEO Oswald Grübel, who's German, by the way
Keystone / Walter Bieri
In an interview with the newspaper NZZ am Sonntag, former Credit Suisse CEO Oswald Grübel has criticized the large Swiss bank for its handling of the current crisis.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/sm
By maintaining that CEO Tidjane Thiam was unaware of the spying affair, the bank is harming the Swiss financial sector, Grübel said in an interview published on Sunday. Foreign media are bursting with schadenfreude, and in business, where it’s all about competence, there’s nothing worse than looking ridiculous, continued the manager.
Grübel also insisted that the major Swiss bank should be run by a Swiss citizen in the future, even if it is helpful to have international employees with global experience.
“But Swiss banks are less global today than they were,” said Grübel, who is from Germany and led CS from 2003-2007 before heading Swiss bank UBS from 2009-2011. Current CS CEO Thiam is French-Ivorian and took on the role in 2015.
Employee monitoring
According to a report in the newspaper SonntagsBlick on Sunday, the monitoring of bank employees is already very extensive. For example, Credit Suisse uses software from the US company Palantir to monitor its employees and meticulously record their activity. Palantir scans all e-mails sent by employees, which helps to identify at-risk employees at an early stage.
Data protection experts told the newspaper that banks were already making extensive use of the means available to monitor staff. However, this is a delicate procedure if the sole purpose is to monitor performance and to check that employees are complying with their contracts.
Le Matin Dimanche also quotes legal scholars of the same opinion. For example, a lawyer explained that spying on an employee using private detectives was prohibited in Switzerland.
With regard to the surveillance of employees, Credit Suisse told SonntagsBlick that the technology solutions of Palantir, for example, were used to ward off financial crime.
More
More
Credit Suisse braced for ‘spygate’ reputational fallout
This content was published on
How deeply will the Credit Suisse spying scandal affect the bank’s reputation among shareholders and private banking clients?
Working on Sundays is detrimental to well-being, says Swiss study
This content was published on
A study by the University of Bern shows that working on Sundays is detrimental to well-being and particularly affects women.
Safra Sarasin private bank and former asset manager sentenced
This content was published on
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has fined private bank J. Safra Sarasin CHF3.5 million for aggravated money laundering. A former bank employee received a six-month suspended prison sentence.
JPMorgan to pay CHF270 million to settle 1MDB claims
This content was published on
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay CHF270 million to the Malaysian government to settle all issues related to its role in the 1MDB financial scandal.
Famine confirmed in Gaza for first time, says UN-backed report
This content was published on
Famine has been declared in a northern part of the Gaza Strip, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system.
Zurich Airport ground handling staff to strike on Friday
This content was published on
Ground handling staff at Zurich Airport have announced a strike for Friday afternoon. According to a union, 200 jobs are at risk.
This content was published on
Philippe Lazzarini will step down as head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) at the end of his term in March, he announced on Thursday.
Swiss government predicts CHF845 million budget deficit in 2026
This content was published on
The Federal Council published its 2026 budget proposal on Thursday: a projected deficit of CHF845 million francs ($1 billion).
This content was published on
The Gösgen nuclear power plant in northwestern Switzerland will be out of service for six months. It has not been connected to the grid since late May.
Swiss authorities and firms agree to cut sugar in cereals, yoghurts and drinks
This content was published on
Cereals, yoghurts and drinks in Switzerland will contain less sugar by 2028. The Swiss government and 21 companies renewed the so-called Milan Declaration in Bern on Thursday.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss press unswayed by CS moves to deal with spy scandal
This content was published on
The main Swiss newspapers agree that the Credit Suisse bank has not done enough to dispel further rumours over a spying scandal.
This content was published on
Credit Suisse’s Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee has resigned following a spying scandal that has rocked Switzerland’s financial circles.
This content was published on
Whenever banks get overexcited about a profitable and expanding area of finance and embark on an expensive talent war, it usually leads to trouble.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.