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“A black man was unbearable”: Did CS boss Thiam have to go because of skin color?
A report in the “New York Times” gives bad marks to the big bank and to Switzerland. There is talk of racism and intolerance, both on the tram and at the CS president’s birthday party.
Tidjane Thiam led Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2020. Photo: trapezoidal
Former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam (58) came across the shadow issue at the big bank – this narrative is wavering. An article in the “New York Times” presents the Ivory Coast’s time on the big bank in a different light. Therefore, racism and his black skin color played a much larger role. “Other bank bosses have survived much bigger scandals,” the newspaper writes. “It is an open question whether a CEO with a different background would have survived the scandal.”
From the beginning of his term, Thiam had racist and derogatory experiences in Switzerland. At the birthday party of the chairman of the board, Urs Rohner, last year, Thiam was the only black person present, until a black man disguised as a caretaker began dancing on stage as he swept the floor. Thiam and others present, including the director of the British pharmaceutical company GSK, left the room. When they returned, Rohner’s friends performed a musical number on stage for which they wore afro wigs.
“The first whose entries were checked”
At the 2016 general meeting, a shareholder told Thiam that the bank was called “Suisse – Credit Suisse”. I wanted to know if Thiam had a conflict of interest due to his origin. Its origin was denigrated in the encounter as a “third world”.
Thiam was noticed in “predominantly white Zurich”. On Bahnhofstrasse, passers-by repeatedly approached him, which cost him energy. He stopped driving his Porsche Cayenne to go to work because he feared headlines would appear in the event of a minor dispute with another road user. His children were often the only blacks on the tram, “and the first to check the tickets.” The newspaper writes: “Even when you appeared at the exit in front of a club, there was gossip.”
“Hopefully send money home”
Thiam himself had similar experiences. He was stopped by customs officials when he was flying from Zurich to Geneva, even though it was a trip within Switzerland. Local media also played an inglorious role according to the “New York Times”: In a reader comment on a “particularly critical financial blog” it was written that Thiam will hopefully send his money home: “Then we can declare this as development aid “. Other media would have described him as “very un-Swiss” and “unloved”.
Although the bank has become more profitable under Thiam’s leadership and asset management has even outperformed its perennial competitor UBS in certain areas, Thiam is said to have confided in employees that he did not feel valued by other members of the management team. management.
“A black man was unbearable”
“Whether because of racism, xenophobia or some other form of intolerance, Thiam has always been seen in Switzerland as someone who does not belong here,” writes the New York Times. The newspaper also notes in the article that Thiam’s Lifestyle, which included First Class flights and stays in Presidential Suites in hotels, was not well received, especially since many jobs were cut at the time. “This anti-elitism is a bit more difficult to analyze,” writes the newspaper. The Swiss have an underlying dislike for those who flaunt their wealth.
Thiam’s sister, Yamousso, tells the newspaper that she would be interested to know if the Swiss “finally have the honesty to admit that a black man at the head of one of their most prestigious institutions was unbearable.”
CS does not take position
Thiam resigned after it emerged that his number two, Iqbal Khan, who wanted to move from Credit Suisse to UBS, was being followed by CS. There was a fight in the center of Zurich when Khan confronted his supervisor. Further accusations were subsequently made. Other Credit Suisse employees are said to have been monitored on behalf of its security service. Finma has launched an investigation.
Urs Rohner and Credit Suisse did not comment on the allegations when asked by the New York Times.
