Credit Suisse spooked investors yet again when on Thursday it announced it was selling the renowned Savoy Hotel in Zurich’s financial district. The announcement comes amid a flurry of rumors the bank is in financial difficulty.
Credit Suisse said that the decision to sell the 184 year old hotel on Paradeplatz was made as part of a regular review of all the bank’s global real estate assets. It is seeking a price for the hotel of as much as 400 million Swiss francs ($404 million).
A bank spokesman said, “As part of this process, the bank has decided to start a sales process for the Hotel Savoy. We will carefully assess all offers and potential investors and communicate any decision in due course.”
The news came on the heels of a string of scandals the bank has faced, and as the bank’s stock has fallen by about 50%. Shares hit an all-time low earlier this week, as credit default swaps hit an all -time high as investors began to question the bank’s future.
During the 2021 collapse of the hedge fund Archegos and the fall of the financial services company Greensill, the bank was hit with billions of dollars in losses. Since then the bank restructured its management team, suspended all share buybacks, and cut dividends to shareholders. Later this month it is scheduled to unveil a costly restructuring plan.
The rumors of the bank’s collapse has repeatedly brought up analogies to the 2008 financial crisis which began with the fall of investment bank Lehman Brothers. However many analysts are telling the investment community that the global financial environment has changed significantly since then, and such a crisis could not repeat.
However on Friday, Credit Suisse offered to buy back as much as three billion Swiss francs (over $3 billion) worth of debt securities.