The former risk chief of Greensill has turned up at a competitor. He signaled that technology and governance were at the heart of the defunct supply chain firm's problems.
Finverity is hiring Brett Downes as chief risk officer, effective immediately, the U.K.-based fintech firm specialized in supply chain finance said in a statement on Wednesday on LinkedIn. Downes was a top executive at Greensill, the U.K.-based supply chain boutique led by Lex Greensill which maintained an $10.1 billion line of funds with Credit Suisse.
Sifting For Recovery
Specfically, Downes was Greensill's risk chief as well as responsible for anti-money laundering policy until May 2020, when he left for a sabbatical at the board's request, according to Finverity. This March, he was retained by Grant Thornton, the firm's administrator, to help with recovering its assets, per his profile on the professional network.
The Australian native was unusually frank about his former employer, signaling that he couldn't do his job without meddling, though he didn't indicate from whom. «A successful risk management culture needs to be embedded in the governance processes of a company and can never be the sole responsibility of the CRO,» Downes said in the statement.
Meddling At Greensill
His confidence that Finverity, based in London, would afford him the autonomy to manage its risk «without undue interference» had convinced him to take the job, Downes said. He joined Greensill in 2015 as risk chief and managing director, eventually hiring more than 70 risk professionals reporting to him, Finverity said.
Downes also blamed squarely Greensill's technology for its demise. «The lack of a robust, real-time technology platform is an often overlooked crucial factor in Greensill’s demise,» Downes said.
The «Greensill story might have been very different» if its technology platform were like Finverity’s, the finance executive said.
Savers Wiped Out?
Downes is one of more than 1,000 employees who lost their job when Greensill became insolvent in March, shortly after Credit Suisse pulled the plug on a $10.1 billion fund line, following the collapse of insurance cover. Greensill's collapse has wide-ranging political, economic, and business implications beyond the U.K., where ex-PM David Cameron advised the firm.
Greensill also bought a nearly century-old bank in Germany, Nordfinanz, in 2014. The Greensill bank's collapse in March shortly after that of its parent means dozens of municipalities and scores of German savers are likely to lose their deposits.
«One-Bank» Frailty
At Credit Suisse, Greensill exposed vulnerabilities in a«one-bank» strategy of dealing with clients: Lex Greensill was reportedly a client of its wealth management arm, and its investment bank was in line for a role on an initial public offering for the supply chain firm that until earlier this year was seeking a $7 billion valuation.
«In general, portfolio concentration, poor corporate governance, and weak investor distribution models can be terminal for businesses in the financial sector» Downes said in the statement announcing his hire.
