Margot Patrick
Appearances
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
These new findings are raising doubts about the bank's transparency.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Kate Leinbach. It's Wednesday, January 15th. Coming up on the show, the relationship between Credit Suisse and the Nazis.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
After the big settlement in the 90s, some organizations kept investigating the Swiss banks. One was the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
But finding out more about the ties between Credit Suisse and the Nazis was hard, in part because of Switzerland's particularly strict laws, which protect the identities of bank account holders.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
But looking into something so old was a monumental task. A lot of records had been destroyed, and much of what was left was handwritten and sitting in rows and rows of boxes in warehouses.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
The banks agreed to pay over $1 billion to descendants of Jewish account holders. It seemed like this was the end of a decades-long fight for accountability. Here's our colleague, Margot Patrick, who covers Swiss banking.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
In 2021, Credit Suisse hired a former U.S. federal prosecutor to head up an in-house investigation. His name was Neil Borowski. And Borowski started finding a lot of new leads.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
Borowski may have been fired, but he didn't stop working. That's after the break. Even though Credit Suisse had fired Neil Borofsky, Borofsky didn't stop working.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
In 1998, two Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, came to an agreement to settle claims that had their roots in World War II and the bank's historic ties to Nazis.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
After he finished his report, Borofsky handed it to Credit Suisse. And that would have been it. Except a U.S. Senate committee heard about the report and subpoenaed a copy. In early 2023, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee made Borofsky's report public. Here's Senator Chuck Grassley sharing some details on the Senate floor.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
At the same time, Credit Suisse had been continuing its investigation without Borowski, and it produced a report of its own.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
At the same time, in March 2023, Credit Suisse collapsed and was taken over by rival Swiss bank UBS. Months later, UBS decided to rehire Borowski so he could finish his work.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
Now, with a bigger remit and more resources, Borofsky turned up a lot of new information.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
The American Blacklist. This was a list kept during World War II of people who the U.S. government and its allies wouldn't do business with.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
Those files could have been revealed during that earlier investigation in the 90s, but they weren't.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
Last month, Borofsky released some of his newest findings.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
But that settlement didn't turn out to be the end. Last month, a new probe into Credit Suisse surfaced some shocking revelations about the bank's ties to Nazis.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
What do you think... The banks are taking away from all of this information, historic information coming out.
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
How could this sort of affect Swiss banking more generally?
The Journal.
The Nazi Ties to Credit Suisse
That's all for today, Wednesday, January 15th. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal. If you like our show, follow us on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. We're out every weekday afternoon. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.