For a second day in the row, shares of embattled bank Credit Suisse stuck another all time low, down nearly 25%, following word that the bank’s largest shareholder has refused to offer it assistance, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday.
Pointing to regulatory and statutory issues, the Saudi National bank, which picked up a 10% stake in the Swiss financial services company in 2023, said it could not offer any more financial assistance to the troubled lender.
Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said, “We cannot because we would go above 10%. It’s a regulatory issue.”
However he added the Saudi National Bank was happy with Credit Suisse’s reorganizational plan, and feels it unlikely the lender will need any further assistance.
Majority owned by the Kingdom’s government and the largest Saudi financial institution, SNB acquired a 9% stake in the Swiss banking giant as a part of Credit Suisse’s raising of credit, committing to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion).
The Swiss lender raised $4.2 billion in capital to fund its massive restructuring plan and strategic overhaul, with the goal of improving the performance of its investment banking division, as well as to rectify a number of risk and compliance failures.
On Tuesday, investors were shook when the bank released an annual report which noted it had identified “material weaknesses” in its controls over its financial reporting, as well as a continuing stream of customer outflows which had still not been staunched. Customer outflows in the fourth quarter were more than 110 billion francs ($120 billion).
Meanwhile a separate report noted that executives at Swiss financial service firms are complaining that their government’s abandonment of its neutrality policies, as it supports Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, are having negative effects on their businesses. They report customers from numerous different countries have begun to exit the nation, or avoid doing business in it, out of fear that if their government ends up at odds with the Western powers, their funds could be locked under sanctions, much as Russian funds are being now, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The report specifically cited Chinese customers as particularly concerned, given the geopolitical strain between the US and China, and the ongoing controversy over the situation with Taiwan.