FCA shifts Credit Suisse onto financial watchlist after string of scandals
The UK’s top financial watchdog has moved embattled lender Credit Suisse onto a watchlist of institutions in need stricter supervisions, after the bank has been hit by a string of scandals in the past 18 months.
The Financial Conduct Authority wrote to the bank in May explaining it had made the move because it had failed to adequately improve its culture, governance and risk controls, the Financial Times first reported.
Credit Suisse’s inclusion in the list signals serious concerns at the regulator, with only 20-30 institutions featuring on the list out of around 60,000 the FCA monitor, Reuters reported.
The FCA has now reportedly asked the bank to review the effectiveness of its international board, risk and audit committees this year, after raising concerns that it had not adequately reported conduct rules being breached for a number of years.
It comes after Credit Suisse slumped to a loss in the first quarter of this year after being hit with a series of hefty legal fees relating to historic fraud cases.
Twin scandals also hit the bank in March last year, when the implosion of U.S. investment firm Archegos Capital led to a $5.5bn loss and $10bn of supply chain finance funds (SCFF) linked to collapsed British financier Greensill were shuttered.
Reuters reported last month that the bank is mulling options to bolster its capital by over $1bn (£827m) to help recover from the losses.