Credit Suisse shares tank after Saudi investor halts more funding
Geneva, Mar 15 (EFE).- Credit Suisse shares on Wednesday tumbled to an all-time low, more than 20%, on the Zurich Stock Exchange after the Saudi National Bank, its main shareholder, said it would not be giving the Swiss lender any further financial assistance.
Credit Suisse shares fell below 2 Swiss francs ($2.16) for the first time and currently stand at 1.73 francs after trading halted.
The dramatic plunge — which comes after several days of steady declines with European stocks still reeling from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank — coincided with statements made by the chairman of the Saudi National Bank, Ammar al Khudairy, announcing that it was ruling out any further assistance.
Al Khudairy told Bloomberg TV that the decision had been taken “for many reasons outside the simplest reason which is regulatory and statutory.”
The Saudi lender acquired an almost 10% stake in Credit Suisse last year as part of the Swiss bank’s vast capital raising program that saw SNB pump 1.5 billion Swiss francs into the entity.
The crisis comes after several tumultuous years for the lender which has been hemorrhaging cash.
In 2021, the Swiss bank faced significant losses and was accused of mismanagement of risk due to its exposure to lender Greensill Capital and hedge fund Archegos Capital Management.
In the same year, the Swiss banks recorded losses of 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
In 2022, Credit Suisse reported losses worth 7.3 billion Swiss francs, 4.5 times higher than in 2021. The bank’s liquidity buffer requirements were placed under great risk as it also recorded outflows of 123 billion Swiss francs in the same year. EFE
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