Meltdown: Scandal, Sleaze and the Collapse of Credit Suisse

‘A stark warning to all of us about what happens when we let bankers do what they like’ – Oliver Bullough, bestselling author of Butler to the World ‘Gripping . . . Scandal after scandal’ – The Times Discover the story behind Credit Suisse, from its scandal-ridden history to its explosive collapse – this is the thrilling exposé of the empty hubris that keep our biggest banks alive. A 166-year-old bastion of Swiss banking, Credit Suisse was among the most important and influential financial institutions in the world – but a veneer of high-class service disguised a darker, dirtier reality. From its sterile Zurich headquarters, the bank catered to a clientele that included dictators, drug dealers and former Nazi officers, and helped fleece its own clients out of billions of dollars. This continued for decades, even as Credit Suisse continued to expand and grant its own executives lucrative bonus contracts. Meltdown is the fascinating history of how the house of cards fell apart. Bloomberg investigative journalist and bestselling author of Pyramid of Lies Duncan Mavin takes readers inside the bank’s hushed marble corridors, detailing its secretive culture, its unrelenting human ambition, and the series of increasingly selfish decisions, made by a handful of men at the top, which ultimately led to disaster. ‘A riveting autopsy of how one of banking’s titans gradually, then suddenly, crumbled under the weight of its own misdeeds’ – Bradley Hope, New York Times bestselling author of Billion Dollar Whale and Blood and Oil ‘This financial thriller of a book offers a tantalizing glimpse into the rot at the heart of one of the world’s most powerful banks’ – Parmy Olson, bestselling author of We Are Anonymous and Supremacy

About the Author :
Duncan Mavin is a seasoned international financial journalist, having started his career as a chartered accountant in the City and in Toronto. He has been a reporter and editor for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and was the Journal’s Financial Editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has also been Managing Editor for Barron’s Group and a reporter for Canada’s National Post, and is the bestselling author of ‘Britain’s version of Bad Blood’, the Lex Greensill exposé Pyramid of Lies. He lives with his family in the UK and is a long-suffering fan of Sunderland football club. Meltdown is his second book.

Review :
This isn’t just a richly detailed story about the hubris, corruption and incompetence that doomed Credit Suisse, it’s a stark warning to all of us about what happens when we let bankers do what they like A riveting autopsy of Credit Suisse's dramatic downfall, Mavin's Meltdown expertly dissects decades of scandal and hubris. This meticulously researched exposé reveals how one of banking's titans gradually, then suddenly, crumbled under the weight of its own misdeeds We’re used by now to bankers behaving badly, yet Duncan Mavin takes it to another, shocking, anger-inducing level. Credit Suisse stood for propriety but, starting with the Holocaust and ending with the vast bank’s sudden collapse, he shows this to be a total fabrication Meltdown offers a gripping and meticulously researched account of Credit Suisse's downfall. Mavin uses vivid storytelling and deep insider knowledge to unravel the long history of scandal, hubris and mismanagement that ultimately led to the bank’s collapse. This financial thriller of a book offers a tantalizing glimpse into the rot at the heart of one of the world's most powerful banks Through deep meticulous reporting and compelling storytelling, Mavin chronicles the gradual, quiet demise – and then shockingly sudden collapse – of what was once one of the world’s most trusted financial institutions. A gripping story of power, greed and panic, and a humbling reminder of the enormous cost of capitalism going awry Pulling no punches and naming names, Mavin lays out an almost comically scandalous story with dry humour, connecting the granular details of how it happened to the big picture – a decades-long saga of corporate folly. Swiss bank secrecy laws emerge as the villain, protecting over-rated, unaccountable executives from scrutiny of their actions until it was too late for anyone to save them from the consequences Duncan Mavin’s engaging, authoritative indictment of Credit Suisse is a cavalcade of scandals, crises and chronic management failures fueled by a pervasively rotten culture. Meltdown is a sensational page-turner, even if you sometimes feel like looking away in disgust from the illegality, amorality, depravity and greed that defined this pillar of global high finance for decades until its collapse A gripping account of how the Swiss bank collapsed under the weight of scandal after scandal Meltdown is an eminently readable survey of Credit Suisse’s tawdry history, and many of the industry’s darker secrets A powerful and well-researched exposé of a bank that deserved to die, Meltdown is an object lesson in how not to run a bank Duncan Mavin is well placed to tell this corporate horror story . . . Meltdown is a repeat demolition job, a pacy account of Credit Suisse’s rise and fall Meltdown is an exhilarating read, with truths more compelling than most fiction. Read it, weep and look out for the Hollywood blockbuster A whistle-stop tour of scandals . . . but at its heart is a financial lesson that we keep having to relearn: Banks don’t fail because they run out of money. They fail because they run out of trust A whistle-stop tour of Credit Suisse's litany of occasionally comical scandals . . . Meltdown is an excellent chronology The chequered 167-year history of Credit Suisse is deftly analyzed . . . and told with commendable clarity