GENEVA, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Credit Suisse, which recently announced its merger with Swiss banking giant UBS, held its last annual general meeting in Zurich on Tuesday.
"We stand here today in a situation that no one could have anticipated. It is a sad day," said Axel P. Lehmann, chairman of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse.
"I apologize that we were no longer able to stem the loss of trust that had accumulated over the years," Lehmann told shareholders, clients and employees of Credit Suisse, which he said "has been a part of Switzerland for 167 years."
"This will be our last ordinary general meeting. I am sure I don't need to tell you that I am deeply saddened by this," said Ulrich Koerner, chief executive officer of Credit Suisse.
The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States last month caused shockwaves around the world, and triggered a dramatic loss of confidence in the global financial industry, said Koerner.
"The bank's survival was at stake ... the merger with UBS was the only feasible option," he said. "The collapse of Credit Suisse would have been catastrophic not just for Switzerland but for the global economy."
More than 1700 Credit Suisse shareholders took part in the general meeting, with some expressing anger and disappointment at the occasion.
"It's a very sad day for Switzerland," said shareholder Rudolf Rechsteiner.
He said that the "bonus culture" was responsible for destroying the bank, with executives and managers "taking billions."
Rechsteiner, who is also chairman of the Ethos Foundation for the promotion of socially responsible investment, added: "The share was at 80 (Swiss) francs, and now it is worth 80 cents, we have lost 99 percent of the capital, it is really a great loss for pension funds and small shareholders."
The meeting closed with a vote by shareholders on the proposals of the Board of Directors.
According to a statement from Credit Suisse, Axel P. Lehmann was re-elected as chairman of the Board for a further term, until the closing of the planned merger with UBS.
Most proposals were approved in the vote, except a maximum aggregate compensation for the Executive Board.
In order to "restore the confidence that has been lacking in financial markets," the Swiss federal government announced on March 19 that Credit Suisse would be taken over by UBS.
