The Swiss bank is appointing a veteran as the chief lawyer in asset management, finews.com has learned. Greensill has sparked myriad legal and regulatory matters at the newly independent unit.
Credit Suisse is naming Niklaus Boser (pictured below) as its general counsel in asset management, a person familiar with the matter told finews.com. A spokeswoman for Credit Suisse confirmed Boser's appointment, effective immediately. He will report both to the Swiss bank's overall top lawyer, Romeo Cerutti, as well as new unit head Ulrich Koerner.
The unit is home to a $10.1 billion line of supply chain funds which, when Credit Suisse pulled the plug, set into motion Greensill's collapse. Together with Archegos, Greensill has spiraled Credit Suisse into crisis.
Legal Quagmire
Koerner replaced Eric Varvel last month at the fund management unit, which has warned investors they may face losses. Greensill is proving a legal quagmire in several ways: clients in the funds are gearing up for a showdown with the Swiss bank over the investments, amid regulatory scrutiny in the U.K., Switzerland, Australia, and the U.S.
Boser is currently the head of structured lending, transactions, and capital markets in Credit Suisse's wealth arm, but he has held a series of roles, including overseeing regulatory change and cross-border at the bank. He was previously with Swiss white-collar law firm Meyerlustenberger before joining Credit Suisse subsidiary Clariden Leu in 2007.
Prominent In Review
The unit was cleaved from Credit Suisse's wider private bank led by Philipp Wehle last month, when veteran Eric Varvel was ousted.The funds has thus far paid back $4.8 billion to investors. Last week, Credit Suisse identified assets linked to industrials magnate Sanjeev Gupta as «principal sources of valuation uncertainty».
Greensill figures prominently in a fundamental review of risk, strategy, and culture under new chairman António Horta Osório. Together with Archegos, Greensill has already cost two top executives – risk chief Lara Warner and top investment banker Brian Chin – their jobs, as well as risk overseer Andreas Gottschling.
