Two Credit Suisse executives fight after dispute over trees

A protracted conflict between top managers of the Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse turned into a fight at a party at one of them, writes the Financial Times.

As the publication found out, the head of the bank, Tijan Thiam, and the head of asset management of the bank, Iqbal Khan, worked well together for several years.

But over time, Khan began to show dissatisfaction with the fact that he was not given the opportunity to speak publicly, and also constantly only promised to give him a position in the leadership of a financial organization. Between the bankers, according to the FT, there was a personal hostility.

She became stronger when Khan bought an estate next to the boss's mansion and began to rebuild it. Work was carried out on weekends as well. After that, Thiam even wrote a complaint against his subordinate to the chairman of the board of directors of Credit Suisse Urs Rohner (FT does not give the content of the complaint).

In January 2019, when Khan had already moved into a new house, Thiam hosted a party for colleagues, where Khan got into an argument with the boss's partner over trees on Thiam's property. According to the FT, Thiam took Khan aside and the two got into a fight, with other guests also participating in the fight. The incident is now being investigated by Swiss prosecutors.

After the fight, Khan and Thiam hardly spoke, "creating a toxic atmosphere at work," FT sources familiar with the situation say. In July, Khan announced that he was leaving Credit Suisse for UBS. Due to a conflict with Thiam, he was allowed to leave the post at a shorter time than his contract required. Khan is due to start working at UBS on 1 October.