Topline
Trading in Credit Suisse shares has been stopped as they fell as much as 21% on Wednesday, deepening nearly a week of back-to-back losses and hitting a new all-time low as the Swiss bank struggles to overcome a series of controversies and a day after acknowledging ‘weaknesses material” in its financial reports.
Credit Suisse shares hit a new low on Wednesday.
Highlights
The fall in stocks hit a new all-time low for the bank.
The decline comes a day later recognized “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting processes that could lead to “misstatements” in its financial reporting and that customers had withdrawn billions from the bank.
President Axel Lehmann on Wednesday said the bank has a “very strong balance sheet” and is “everyone on the desk” to resolve any issues.
Lehmann dismissed the notion of any government assistance to the bank and said that was “not the point at all.”
The bank’s largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, has ruled out injecting more funds into the Swiss bank, according at Bloomberg.
Ammar Al Khudairy, chairman of the Saudi bank, said it would invest “absolutely no more” money in the beleaguered institution, including for “regulatory and statutory” reasons.
To monitor
Wednesday’s drop sets Credit Suisse up for its seventh consecutive day of losses.
Peg News
In his delayed annual report for 2022 on Tuesday, Credit Suisse revealed high cash outflows and said he found weaknesses in his financial reports. He scrapped annual bonuses for senior executives and said management was working to strengthen its risk and control frameworks. Investors reacted badly and stocks fell for the sixth day in a row. The bank’s poor performance in 2022 follows years of controversy, including ties to investment firm Archegos and supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital, which collapsed and cost the bank dearly. the bank. Billions—revelations many clients have been implicated in corruption, torture, trafficking and other serious crimes and a spying scandal. The bank launched numerous efforts to transform the business, including multiple management changes.
Tangent
Credit Suisse led a broader rout in banking stocks in Europe on Wednesday. Shares of BNP Paribas and Societe Generale fell more than 10% in Paris, Santander more than 7% in Madrid and Deutsche Bank 8% in Frankfurt. The slowdown comes amid broader financial concerns following the collapse of US banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature.
Further reading
Another Credit Suisse crisis: Bank finds ‘significant weaknesses’ in financial reporting (Forbes)