Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) has announced a new plan to address “material weaknesses” in its control and reporting procedures seen over the past two years, following concerns raised by US regulators last week.
The move comes against the backdrop of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which has placed the global financial sector under microscopic scrutiny and sent global markets tumbling.
The Swiss bank in its annual report told the market “management did not design and maintain an effective risk assessment process to identify and analyse the risk of material misstatements in its financial statements”.
Separately, auditor PwC delivered an “adverse opinion” on the effectiveness of the group’s internal controls.
The bank said that, nevertheless, its financial statements for the years 2022, and 2021 “fairly present” its financial condition.
Chair waives paycheck
Chairman Axel Lehmann has opted to waive his payment of 1.5 million Swiss francs (£1.35mln) for his first full year on the job.
The decision comes as the bank announced its worst annual performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
Lehmann, who assumed the position in January 2022, will not be receiving the standard fee usually paid to board members on top of their salaries.
Credit Suisse shares dropped more than 10% on Monday.
Article updated at 11.17am to reflect news of Lehmann’s pay cut.