The bank was at the center of multiple international investigations for tax avoidance (such as the famous "Suisse Secrets" scandal) which culminated in a guilty plea and the forfeiture of US$2.6 billion in fines from 2008 to 2012.

[23] According to The Handbook on the History of European Banks, "Switzerland's young electricity industry came to assume the same importance as support for railway construction 40 years earlier.

The bank created its own sugar beet factory, bought 25,000 shares in animal breeding ventures and supported an export business, Schweizerische Exportgesellschaft, that experienced heavy losses for over-speculative investing.

[30][31][32][33] The Agreement on the Swiss Banks' Code of Conduct with Regard to the Exercise of Due Diligence was created in the 1970s,[18] after a Credit Suisse branch in Chiasso was exposed for illegally funneling $900 million in Italian deposits to speculative investments.

[39] This became known as the "burning bed" deal, because the Federal Reserve overlooked the Glass–Steagall Act that requires separation between commercial and investment banks in order to preserve the stability of the financial markets.

It also changed the compensation and commission models to encourage cross-division referrals and created a "solution partners" group that functions between the investment and private banking divisions.

[55] Four lawsuits were filed from other resorts seeking $24 billion in damages alleging Credit Suisse created loans with the intention of taking over their properties upon default.

[71] In September 2012, the Swiss government gave banks like Credit Suisse permission to provide information to the US Justice Department for tax evasion probes.

[72] In February 2014, it agreed to pay a fine of $197 million after one of its businesses served 8,500 US clients without registering its activities, leading to suspicion as to whether it was helping Americans evade taxes.

When a bank engages in misconduct this brazen, it should expect that the Justice Department will pursue criminal prosecution to the fullest extent possible, as has happened here," Attorney General Eric H. Holder said at the time.

[86] On 15 March 2023, Credit Suisse' share price dropped nearly 25 percent after Saudi National Bank, its largest investor, said it could not provide more financial assistance.

[102] In June 2024, a group of Credit Suisse bondholders holding $82 million worth of the bank's ATL debt filed a lawsuit against Switzerland seeking compensation.

[citation needed] Credit Suisse endorses a strategy called bancassurance of trying to be a single company that offers every common financial services product.

[122] Credit Suisse developed the CreditRisk+ model of risk assessment in loans, which is focused exclusively on the chance of default based on the exogenous Poisson method.

From the 1940s until into the 2010s, beside regular customers, Credit Suisse offered criminals, corrupt politicians and controversial secret service chiefs a safe haven for their assets, despite all public declarations of a "white money" strategy.

[49] In 1995, the Securities Data Company ranked Credit Suisse as the fourth best place for financial advice for mergers and acquisitions in the US and sixth for domestic equity issues.

From April to July, UBS made a record profit of 29.2 billion CHF and its stocks, which were initially depressed after the fusion, were traded at much higher prices.

[143] In 2007, two Credit Suisse traders pleaded guilty to mismarking their securities positions to overvalue them by $3 billion, avoid losses, and increase their year-end bonuses.

[144] A team of traders, facing an inquiry from Credit Suisse's internal controls Price Testing group, justified their bond portfolio's inflated value by obtaining "independent" marks from other banks' trading desks.

[154] According to the DOJ in 2023, Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement with US authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes.

[159] Between 2012 and 2016, Credit Suisse brokered US$1.3 billion of loans with Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang, to develop the country's tuna fishing industry.

[162][163] In November 2018, about a dozen climate activists played tennis inside Credit Suisse agencies (of Lausanne, Geneva and Basel simultaneously), disrupting operations as a protest against the bank's investments in fossil fuels.

[169] On 24 January 2020, following the trial, the climate activist group emitted a press statement requesting a transparent, televised debate with the CEO of Credit Suisse.

[173] In April 2021, at least seven executives were removed from their posts after Credit Suisse reported losses of $4.7 billion linked to its prime brokerage services provided to Archegos Capital.

[176] In 2021, Credit Suisse was fined €83.3 million for forex rates manipulation by the European Union Commission on Competition because of its participation in a cartel detrimental to EU consumers and involving several other large international banks.

[188] On 7 October 2022, the bank offered to buy back US$3 billion worth of debt, and put Zurich's Savoy Hotel on sale, which was later purchased by wealthy Arab officials.

[190] In the fall-out from the falling stock prices, insiders believed that Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman was looking to invest almost US$500 million into the bank, but had to withdraw his offer due to regulatory concerns.

[191] In 2023 Credit Suisse stopped internal investigation into its Nazi clients and other Nazi-linked accounts facing much condemnation of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and Holocaust survivors among others.

[32][140] According to WetFeet's Insider Guide, Credit Suisse offers more travel opportunities, greater levels of responsibility and more client interaction than new employees get at competing firms but is known for long hours.

[196][197] Later the Swiss federal government, as well as the last General Assembly of Credit Suisse shareholders voted to withdraw or seriously reduce bonus payments to top management.