Credit Suisse CEO Gottstein earns less than predecessor Thiam

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein earned less than predecessor Tidjane Thiam in his first year in the role, the bank’s annual report showed on Thursday, as the bank was hit in 2020 by a slew of legal and impairment headaches and as bonuses were also impacted by higher anticipated credit losses.

Gottstein, who became head of the bank last February after Thiam’s abrupt departure, was granted 8.53 million Swiss francs ($9.24 million) in total compensation.

Gottstein has been trying to move Credit Suisse on from a string of bad headlines, spanning a spy scandal that ousted predecessor Thiam to a $450 million write-down on a hedge fund investment. The recent collapse of around $10 billion of funds related to British supply chain financier Greensill has put fresh pressure on him.

His awarded pay compared to 10.7 million Swiss francs Thiam was granted in his last full year at the bank. Thiam’s pay had been cut 15% that year.

The report on Thursday showed Thiam was not compensated for the start of 2020.

“For 2020, no compensation payments were made to former Executive Board members who left Credit Suisse, which was also the case for 2019,” the bank wrote in the report. “Further, no payments were made to former Executive Board members pursuant to non-compete arrangements.”

Executives earned 12% less in total aggregate compensation in 2020, the report showed, while the bank’s overall bonus pool fell 7% to 2.949 billion francs.

($1 = 0.9230 Swiss francs)

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