Credit Suisse CEO Blindsided as Bank Added to Risky Positions
- Thiam said trading actions were `completely unacceptable'
- Firm has taken more than $250 million of writedowns this year
Credit Suisse CEO: There Needs to Be a Cultural Change
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Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam said the firm’s traders had ramped up holdings of distressed debt and other illiquid positions without many senior leaders’ knowledge, helping lead to a first-quarter loss in the markets business.
“This wasn’t clear to me, it wasn’t clear to my CFO and to many people inside the bank” when the firm laid out a strategy in October, Thiam, 53, said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview. “There needs to be a cultural change because it’s completely unacceptable,” adding that there had been “consequences” for some employees.