In the current crisis, the financial institution is also cutting the remuneration of management.
(Photo: Reuters)
Zurich Credit Suisse Group AG has identified “material deficiencies” in its financial reporting for the 2022 and 2021 financial years and has begun work to address these deficiencies. In those two years, “the group’s internal controls over financial reporting were inadequate,” Credit Suisse said in its annual report released on Tuesday. “As a result, management has also determined that our disclosure controls and procedures were not adequate.”
The bank was forced to delay the release of its annual report last week after last-minute inquiries from US regulators. The key deficiencies identified relate to a failure to prepare and maintain effective risk assessments in the accounts, the bank said.
“PwC, the independent auditing firm that has audited the financial statements included in this annual report for the year ended December 31, 2022, has issued an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over the Group’s financial reporting as at December 31, 2022,” said the CreditSuisse.
The Swiss bank is also reacting to the current crisis by canceling all of its bonuses. Group boss Ulrich Körner and his colleagues will only receive the fixed remuneration for 2022, as can be seen from the annual report of the major Swiss bank published on Tuesday.
Körner, who was promoted to CEO at the end of July, still comes to 2.5 million francs. After a bonus cut for 2021, his predecessor Thomas Gottstein received a total salary of CHF 3.75 million.
The rest of the group’s management is also feeling the effects of the institute’s problems in their own wallets. The 18 members of the committee will receive a total of CHF 32.2 million for 2022. In the previous year, fixed salaries and bonuses for management totaled CHF 38.1 million.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Axel Lehmann, is also waiving part of his fee. Lehmann was awarded remuneration of three million francs for the period from April 2022 to April 2023. A lower total compensation will be proposed at the Bank’s Annual General Meeting for the following term of office. The bank plans to increase the equity component of the president’s compensation from 33 to 50 percent.
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