đź”’ Alec Hogg: Message from new Credit Suisse cockroaches

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Even though the man being blamed for the latest disasters to engulf Credit Suisse is an African, there can be little sympathy in our part of the world for this one-time venerable company. The Swiss institution whose roots go back to 1856, is rapidly becoming the poster boy for a rot deeply embedded within investment banks.

Read more: Alec Hogg: Our first scrape with censorship over keynote

Next month, it will be just two years since Credit Suisse was exposed as the main actor in a fraud and money laundering scheme that hammered impoverished Mozambique. At least $200m was siphoned from a $2bn bond raised for the socialist state, ostensibly to buy boats. Mozam’s ex-finance minister was one of many insiders to receive bribes and kickbacks.

The latest cockroaches to emerge from the Zurich kitchen are more sophisticated than their “Tuna Bond Scandal” cousin. They’re also decidedly bigger and nastier. Credit Suisse yesterday disclosed a $4.7bn loss in the Archegos debacle, where it lent a high roller money to punt on tech stocks. The bank is also the biggest loser in the Greensill “supply chain finance” scam.
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Read more: Alec Hogg: Thanks for keeping faith Cyril, so should we

The mess is the apparent consequence of a high-risk strategy adopted by Ivorian Tidjane Thiam, Credit Suisse CEO from 2015 to 2020. But on the BizNews Power Hour last night, new Tuesday evening co-host Steven Nathan said it is more a reflection of investment banking as a whole, where executives revel in a “heads we win, tails the bank loses” environment. Have a listen by clicking here. Hard to disagree after listening to this independent-minded financial insider.

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