Axel Lehmann, the chairman of Credit Suisse, apologised to the bank’s shareholders for the failure of the 167-year-old Swiss financial institution during the bank’s final shareholder meeting as an independent enterprise.
“It is a sad day. For all of you, and for us,” Lehmann said to shareholders during the annual general meeting of the bank that was held in Zurich.
The bitterness, wrath, and shock felt by all people who are dissatisfied, overwhelmed, and touched by the events of the past few weeks can be felt by those who read this sentence.
“I really apologise to you for that. I’m sorry that we were no longer able to prevent the gradual erosion of trust that had built up over the years, and I’m sorry to have let you down,” Lehmann told the audience.
The shareholders of Credit Suisse have voiced their displeasure with the manner in which UBS was compelled to take over the company in order for Switzerland’s government to avoid provoking a worldwide financial crisis.
According to the Financial Times, a certain investor was overheard saying, “I didn’t bring my pistol along today, don’t worry.”
He went on to say, “I am seeing red today, and so are many other stockholders, which is why I am wearing my red tie.”
As it prepared to question top executives at the shareholder meeting, the shareholder consulting firm Ethos criticised the “greed and stupidity of the company’s leadership” as well as pay that reached “unimaginable heights.”
According to what was written, “shareholders have lost large amounts of money and the future of thousands of jobs is uncertain.”
According to Dominik Gross, who works for the Swiss Alliance of Development Organizations, the use of emergency powers by the government in order to force through this arrangement violates both the law and democratic norms.
“Swiss taxpayers too are on the hook for billions of francs of garbage investments,” and yet “the government, (regulator) FINMA, and the central bank have given no explanation concerning the state’s 9 billion (franc) loss guarantee to UBS,” the article states.