ZURICH (Reuters) – Tidjane Thiam has quit as Credit Suisse chief executive after a spying scandal that has hit the reputation of Switzerland’s second-biggest bank and shocked the country’s financial community.
Thomas Gottstein, who is head of the Swiss business at Credit Suisse, will take over from Thiam, the Zurich-based lender said on Friday. His departure ends a conflict with Chairman Urs Rohner after revelations that the bank had snooped on former executives raised questions over its culture.
The espionage involving Credit Suisse surfaced in September when former star wealth manager Iqbal Khan, after defecting to rival UBS, confronted a private detective who was following him and his wife through Zurich.
A spokesman for Switzerland’s market supervisor FINMA said it was important that calm was restored to the bank. It said it was continuing its investigations into the scandal.
Thiam’s exit, ending a near five-year run as Credit Suisse CEO, runs the risk of irking international investors who had backed him, not Rohner.
“A period of instability will ensue as Mr Gottstein attempts to lay the foundations for further growth. We would assume investor discontent following the change, with any fall-out unknown at this stage,” KBW analysts said.
This was reflected in a 5% drop in the bank’s share price in early trade. It was down about 0.7% by 1320 GMT after recouping much of the earlier losses.
Credit Suisse’s board said