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A health scandal, a predictable watch industry bankruptcy and a historic banking collapse. With no apparent links, these three cases have punctuated, to varying degrees, the economic news of recent months. Because they reveal a dark side of the economy, they arouse strong reactions, harming the image of thousands of companies which are doing their job as well as possible.
From negligence to greed, the springs of these cases have more similarities than it seems. Above all, they bring to light the astounding passivity that many shareholders continue to show, even though they are the guardians of good corporate governance.
Read also: Credit Suisse: CoCos holders strike back
At Credit Suisse, it took far too many fines and debacles for the owners of the establishment to finally fight back. It was a year ago, when they refused to grant their discharge to the directors of the bank, after the losses suffered in the bankruptcy of the companies Archegos and Greensill. We know the rest of the story.
For Nestlé, entangled in the scandal of Buitoni pizzas contaminated in 2022 by the bacteria Escherichia coli, the context is obviously quite different. Described as unsanitary, the incriminated factory in France was definitively closed at the beginning of March; out-of-court settlements with the families of the victims of serious poisoning – including two suspected deaths – are under discussion.
Read also: The Buitoni affair leaves Nestlé’s shareholders unmoved
Not just an ethical issue
After such a disaster, the young Candide de Voltaire would not fail to be surprised when he saw the meeting of shareholders giving his blank check to the management of the group. Despite appeals from a minority, they signed the discharge for the 2022 financial year at 94.5% on Thursday. Without knowing what the outcome of the criminal aspect of this scandal will be. Without knowing the amount provisioned for its financial consequences.
Is it nonchalance, cynicism or overconfidence? The motivations behind this surprising indifference can be of different natures. In the case of suspicions of fraudulent bankruptcy within a small group which claimed to want to resuscitate the French watch industry whose The weather echoes, a certain naivety seems to have prevailed among investors.
In a world that is over-informed and allergic to risk, being a shareholder can no longer be limited to collecting dividends, however juicy they may be. Pension funds and other investment funds must hold accountable the managers of the companies in which they become involved. The sad end of Credit Suisse reminded us that this was obviously not just an ethical or moral issue. Non-interventionism can be paid for in cash.
Read also: Suspicion of fraudulent bankruptcy in the Aiôn Group case
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