Credit Suisse, the scandal-prone investment bank, has revealed it had a net loan exposure to Russia of SFr848mln at the end of 2021.
The bank also revealed it held net assets of SFr195mln francs in its Russian subsidiaries.
The bank said it had reduced its exposure to Russia since the beginning of this year without revealing by how much but it did say its Wealth Management division had “minimal total credit exposure towards specifically sanctioned individuals”.
"While we do not have a physical presence in Ukraine, we are committed to providing support to our colleagues and their families within the region," the bank’s chief executive officer, Thomas Gottstein said.
"In purely financial terms, we have reviewed our positions and believe that the bank's exposure in relation to Russia is well-managed, with appropriate systems in place to address associated risks," the bank said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that Credit Suisse had asked hedge funds and other investors to destroy documents relating to its richest clients’ yachts and private jets, in an attempt to keep secret loans it had made to oligarchs who were later sanctioned.
Credit Suisse et UBS ont limité les risques liés à la Russie https://t.co/JJfqHMn3ZJ
— Le Temps (@LeTemps) March 10, 2022
The Swiss bank, which recently parted company with its massively well-remunerated chairperson, Antonio Horta-Osorio, the former boss of Lloyds Banking, after he admitted breaking Covid protocols in both Switzerland and the UK, also revealed it had slashed bonuses by around two-thirds for its top executives after the bank was embroiled in a succession of scandals such as the ones concerning Archegos Capital and Greensill.
Horta-Orsorio trousered £2.9mln in 2021. The chief executive, Thomas Gottstein, saw his compensation fall 43% from the year before.
Executive board members had one full year of variable compensation cancelled, the bank revealed, equivalent to more than SFr40mln.