London
CNN
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Credit Suisse on Tuesday acknowledged a “material weakness” in its financial reporting as it scrapped bonuses for senior executives following its worst annual performance since the global financial crisis.
The troubled Swiss bank also said Chairman Axel Lehmann had offered to ‘voluntarily waive’ a share award worth 1.5 million Swiss francs ($1.6 million) for the financial year. 2022/2023, given the “poor financial performance” of the company.
Credit Suisse (CSGKF) said in its annual report that it found “the group’s internal control over financial reporting to be not effective” because it did not adequately identify potential risks to financial state.
The revelations come just days after the bank delayed the release of the annual report after an eleventh hour request from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on the cash flow statements for 2019 and 2020.
The board concluded that “this material weakness could result in account balance or disclosure misstatements that would cause a material misstatement in Credit Suisse’s annual financial statements,” it added. Credit Suisse said it was urgently developing a “remediation plan” to tighten controls.
Credit Suisse shares were down 3.7% in morning trading. The bank’s share price fell to a new record high on Monday, as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank spooked investors and sent European banking stocks plummeting.
— This is a developing story and will be updated.
