Corporate governance

We have a strong corporate governance framework, reflecting our commitment to safeguarding the interests of our stakeholders. Our corporate governance complies with internationally accepted standards and we recognize the importance of good corporate governance.

The Group’s corporate governance framework consists of its governing bodies and its corporate governance policies and procedures that define the competencies of the governing bodies and other corporate governance rules, in line with Swiss corporate law and international best practice standards. In accordance with Swiss banking law, the Group operates under a dual-board structure, which strictly segregates the duties of supervision that are the responsibility of the Board of Directors from the duties of management that are the responsibility of the Executive Board. The roles of the Chairman (non-executive) and the CEO (executive) are separate and carried out by two different people.

We are aware of the emerging practices for increased shareholder involvement in sustainability matters, for example, through “say-on-climate” shareholder proposals. We are monitoring developments in this space and recognize the need to develop a mutual understanding between companies and stakeholders to determine what is important in non-financial reporting and shareholder voting on such matters. Under new Swiss ESG disclosure and due diligence requirements Credit Suisse will be required to report annually on certain non-financial matters, with the first report due in 2024 for the 2023 financial year.