The appointment of Körner, who heads the bank’s asset management division, is expected to be announced on Wednesday morning when the bank reports second-quarter results, according to four people familiar with the plans. Christian Meissner, who headed the lender’s investment bank, also plans to leave the group after joining just over a year ago. But his departure will not be announced on Wednesday, people with knowledge of the matter said. Körner, who is Swiss, rejoined Credit Suisse in March last year, having previously worked at UBS where he headed the bank’s asset management. Gottstein took over as CEO of Credit Suisse in February 2020, just weeks before Switzerland was forced into a coronavirus lockdown. His departure was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The 58-year-old’s time as chief executive was blighted by the twin crises surrounding the collapse of specialist finance firm Greensill Capital and family office Archegos within weeks of each other in the spring of last year. It has been rocked by a string of historic scandals that have sent the bank’s share price to a three-decade low this month. The collapse of Greensill forced Credit Suisse to close a $10 billion investment fund suite, while the bank suffered a $5.5 billion trading loss when Archegos collapsed. Thomas Gottstein, pictured, was appointed in 2020 after a highly embarrassing corporate espionage scandal prompted the abrupt departure of Tidjane Thiam © Reuters Gottstein became CEO after a highly embarrassing corporate espionage scandal prompted the abrupt departure of predecessor Tidjane Thiam. A surprise choice, Gottstein was widely seen as a safe pair of hands to steady the ship after Thiam’s early ouster. At the time, he led the lender’s domestic business and had moved on to the investment bank. During his tenure as CEO, Gottstein oversaw a complete overhaul of the executive team. The bank is looking for a new chief financial officer, with David Mathers leaving later this year. The bank’s board has also been revamped, with Gottstein serving under three different chairs. He was appointed by Urs Rohner, who left after 10 years at the helm last year. Rohner was replaced by former Lloyds Banking Group chief executive António Horta-Osório, who was forced out of the bank after just nine months after falling out with board members and was caught breaking Covid-19 quarantine rules. 19. Former UBS executive Axel Lehmann took over as chairman in January, having joined the board just a few months earlier. Credit Suisse is expected to report its third consecutive quarterly loss on Wednesday morning, having already issued a profit warning for the third year in a row. The bank is under pressure to cut costs after a setback in risk-taking last year and divest from some business lines following the Greensill and Archegos scandals. Gottstein has described 2022 as a transition year. Credit Suisse declined to comment.
