Credit Suisse hits record high, biggest backer says it can’t put in more money

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) shares fell on Wednesday, falling as much as 10.5% to hit a new record low as its biggest investor said it could not provide more financial assistance to the Swiss bank.

“We can’t because we would go over 10%. It’s a matter of regulation,” Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said on Wednesday.

The Saudi lender acquired a nearly 10% stake last year after participating in Credit Suisse’s fundraising and has pledged to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion). dollars).

Credit Suisse released its annual report for 2022 on Tuesday saying the bank had identified “significant weaknesses” in financial reporting controls and had yet to stem client outflows.

Switzerland’s second-biggest bank is trying to recover from a series of scandals that have shaken investor and customer confidence. Customer outflows in the fourth quarter reached more than 110 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion).

Shares were last down 10.2% at 2.01 Swiss francs ($2.19) in Zurich, heading for a seventh consecutive daily decline.

The cost of insuring corporate bonds against default has also skyrocketed. Five-year credit default swaps on Credit Suisse debt widened to 533 basis points from 549 basis points at the last close, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Broader equity markets fell sharply, reversing earlier gains as the fall in Credit Suisse shares rekindled some of investors’ concerns about the resilience of the global banking system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank ( SIVB.O).

($1 = 0.9173 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Elisa Martinuzzi

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.