How did Credit Suisse become the most scandal-ridden bank of all time?

Swiss banking has long been synonymous with secrecy, a harbinger of two things in the financial world: opportunity and risk. And Credit Suisse struggled to handle this balancing act for years, leading to its spectacular implosion in 2023. Switzerland’s second largest bank had long been unscrupulous about housing ill-gotten wealth. Its bankers looked after Nazi loot and did business with “kings of kickbacks,” even collapsing the economy of Mozambique and employing private investigators to spy on its own employees. Joining us on this week’s Whale Hunting is investigative reporter Duncan Mavin, who sits down with Bradley to discuss the long string of scandals that preceded Credit Suisse’s collapse, the surprising touch paper for its disintegration, and a well-hidden industry secret: that bankers and hedge-funders do very little actual banking.Mentioned in this week’s episode:

• Duncan Mavin’s new book, Meltdown: Scandal, Sleaze and the Collapse of Credit Suisse
• His book about the collapse of Greensill: Pyramid of Lies: The Prime Minister, the Banker and the Billion-Pound Scandal
• Rob Copeland’s book, The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend

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