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Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Operating Officer Pierre- Olivier Bouee has resigned after taking responsibility for the surveillance of the bank’s former wealth-management chief Iqbal Khan.
The resignation is effective immediately, the Swiss bank CS, +0.41% CSGN, +0.95% said Tuesday.
“The board of directors considers that the mandate for the observation of Iqbal Khan was wrong and disproportionate and has resulted in severe reputational damage to the bank,” it said.
The resignation comes after an investigation into the issue found that the COO ordered the bank’s head of global security services to start the observation of Khan.
The investigation was carried out by law firm Homburger. The COO said that he took the decision alone, without discussing it with Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam or other board members.
“The Homburger investigation did not identify any indication that the CEO had approved the observation of Iqbal Khan nor that he was aware of it prior to Sept. 18, 2019, after the observation had been aborted,” the bank said in a statement.
No evidence was found suggesting that Khan tried to poach employees or clients, it said.
The bank’s head of global security services also resigned.
James Walker has been appointed COO and board member.
Khan has joined Swiss bank UBS Group AG (UBS), where he is scheduled to start work Tuesday.
