Credit Suisse Confirms Spying Operation Vs Former HR Chief

Tom Burroughes

23 December 2019

The spying scandal at board of directors and Homburger following the Iqbal Khan matter, the responsible individuals did not respond truthfully when asked about any additional observations and did not disclose the observation of Peter Goerke. Furthermore, when organising and carrying out the observation of Peter Goerke, they took care not to leave any identifiable trace in the bank’s systems," the statement continued.

The board of directors considers the observation of Peter Goerke to be unacceptable and completely inappropriate. In no way did this operation – or the subsequent observation of Iqbal Khan – correspond to the corporate culture of Credit Suisse as promoted by the board of directors," it said. Credit Suisse apologised to Goerke for the observation.

The bank said that it has already taken steps to avoid such actions happening again.

“The observation of Peter Goerke, which has now been confirmed, is inexcusable. It is of grave concern that the responsible individuals failed to answer truthfully about this observation during the external investigation in September 2019. We are aware that the observations of Iqbal Khan and Peter Goerke have damaged the reputation of our bank. With the measures that we have put in place, we are sending a clear message that the Board of Directors firmly rejects a culture of observation," Urs Rohner, board chairman, said.

Credit Suisse said it will continue to cooperate closely with FINMA and now also with the FINMA-appointed independent auditor.

(Editor's note: That two senior former Credit Suisse figures had been spied upon means that, while the bank says investigations haven't pointed the finger at Thiam, the saga raises serious questions about the culture of that bank. As and when next year's shareholder annual meeting rolls around, it may well be that there is going to be a change at the top, if only to ensure a fresh start.)