By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group AG will ask U.S. regulators at a hearing on Thursday to allow it to manage pensions following a criminal guilty plea, but will face resistance from groups determined to stop what they see as the rubber-stamping of such waivers.
The rare public hearing at the U.S. Department of Labor will feature speakers ranging from bank officials and labor lawyers to consumer advocates such as Ralph Nader, and even Holocaust survivors.
Companies that break criminal laws or commit fraud are generally banned from activities such as conducting private offerings or managing pension plans. But regulators, including the DOL and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, often grant waivers that allow them to continue operating as usual.
Now regulators are facing a push-back after several banks became repeat offenders. Critics say allowing wrongdoers to continue unimpeded dilutes their punishment and paves the way for future misconduct.
Credit Suisse (VX:CSGN) pleaded guilty last May to a U.S. criminal charge it conspired to help U.S. clients evade taxes. It agreed to pay $2.5 billion in penalties, but the charge also prevents the bank from managing U.S. pension funds unless it gets an exemption from the Labor Department.
The bank has asked for one, saying its clients would otherwise "need to go to the expense and effort of finding new managers."
In the past, similar requests were granted with little public debate. In fact, Credit Suisse's 30-page application to the DOL was modeled in part on an older request submitted by UBS AG (VX:UBSG), according to documents seen by Reuters.
Officials at the DOL directed Credit Suisse to redline its own application against the UBS version to compare the differences, a person familiar with the matter said.
Policymakers and lawmakers have questioned whether the waivers are rubber-stamped. SEC Democratic Commissioner Kara Stein criticized similar exemptions for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (L:RBS), BNP Paribas SA (PA:BNPP) and Bank of America Corp (N:BAC), saying regulators treated banks as if they were "too big to bar."
In Credit Suisse's case, the DOL first proposed granting an exemption last fall. Officials decided to hold a public hearing, however, after an outcry from critics.
If an exemption is approved, Credit Suisse would need to meet certain conditions, such as hiring an independent auditor.
A Credit Suisse spokesman said the bank respectsthe rights of opponents who will testify against the waiver, but that none of their arguments are relevant or newsworthy.