By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
ZURICH (Reuters) -Credit Suisse on Tuesday appointed Goldman Sachs’ David Wildermuth as its new chief risk officer, as it seeks to turn the corner on the Archegos and Greensill scandals that have rocked Switzerland’s second-biggest bank.
“I am delighted to welcome David to Credit Suisse, where he will help shape the Group’s enhanced risk management framework, an essential part of the bank’s strategic realignment currently underway,” Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio said in a statement.
Switzerland’s second-biggest bank has cut risk after its prime brokerage business lost more than any other competitor from the collapse of family office Archegos, and as its asset management division scrambles to return some $10 billion of client investments linked to insolvent supply chain finance firm Greensill.
Those scandals have prompted a swathe of sackings, executive changes and regulatory investigations, as well as a planned strategic overhaul which Horta-Osorio has said is to place risk and cultural change as a top priority.
Former Chief Risk and Compliance Officer Lara Warner was one of the high-level casualties, replaced on an interim basis by Joachim Oechslin, who the bank said will resume his role as strategic advisor to the CEO.
Wildermuth, a 24-year veteran of the U.S. financial giant, was appointed deputy chief risk officer at Goldman Sachs in 2015 and has been a partner since 2010.
“David joins with an impressive track record, underlining our firm commitment to further enhance our risk management across the bank,” Credit Suisse CEO Thomas Gottstein said in the statement. “He is the right person to lead and further strengthen our risk organization.”
Wildermuth will assume the role on February 1, 2022 at the latest, the Swiss bank said.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Silke Koltrowitz)
