After a tough week, the destiny of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, may be decided within the next 36 hours.
In recent days, investors and consumers withdrew their funds from Credit Suisse as the global banking sector entered a crisis as a result of the failure of two American lenders. Financial contracts that shield investors from potential bond losses are already costing record amounts.
According to Morningstar, the bank’s managed US and European funds had withdrawals totaling more than $450 million between Monday and Wednesday.
When shares hit a fresh record low on Wednesday, the Swiss central bank unveiled a lifeline that momentarily purchased Credit Suisse (CS). Nevertheless, by Friday, experts were predicting that a complete rescue might be required, and rumors of a potential acquisition by its biggest Swiss rival, UBS, started to swirl (UBS).
On March 16, 2023, in New York City, people are seen passing by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
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According to persons familiar with the situation, Reuters and the Financial Times claimed that Swiss authorities were pressuring banks to negotiate an agreement before markets opened on Monday in order to increase trust in the nation’s financial sector.
A related Financial Times claims that BlackRock (BLK), which owns 4% of Credit Suisse, was drafting an alternative bid for the struggling bank that was refuted.
“Blackrock is not involved in any plans to buy all or a portion of Credit Suisse, and has no interest in doing so,” a representative for the investment firm told CNN.
One of the top 30 banks in the world’s financial system, Credit Suisse, has been struggling for years as a result of several scandals, enormous losses, and tactical errors. In the last 12 months, its shares have decreased by 75%. Yet this month the confidence problem intensified significantly.
Investors now perceive other firms as being susceptible following Silicon Valley Bank’s bankruptcy last week, which was the largest for a US lender since the global financial crisis of 2008.
Then Credit Suisse erupted once again. The 167-year-old bank recognised a “significant deficiency” in its financial reporting and said it did not sufficiently identify possible risks to its financial statements when it published its annual report on Tuesday.
After investing $1.5 billion in the bank last year for a stake of around 10%, its largest stakeholder, the Saudi National Bank, made it plain the following day that it would not make any more investments in the institution. Investors were highly agitated by this.
The most likely outcome, according to banking experts at JPMorgan on Thursday, was a purchase by UBS.
Due to the combined market share of about 30% of the Swiss domestic banking industry and the associated “a lot of market share concentration and control risk,” he predicted that UBS will likely split off Credit Suisse’s Swiss operations.
The destiny of Credit Suisse will be resolved by the end of this week, according to a story published on Saturday in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a Zurich daily that is the home of both banks. He also mentioned that a response from the Swiss government is anticipated for Sunday night.
source: CNN