Credit Suisse hits record low, largest lender says it can’t deposit more money

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) – Shares of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) fell on Wednesday, falling as much as 10.5% to a new record low as its largest investor said he could not provide more financial support to the Swiss bank .

“We can’t, because we would go above 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 capital raise and committing to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion).

Credit Suisse released its 2022 annual report on Tuesday and said the bank had identified “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting controls and had not yet contained customer outflows.

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

Shares last fell 10.2% at 2.01 Swiss francs ($2.19) in Zurich, heading for a seventh straight daily drop.

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

Broader equity markets fell sharply, reversing previous gains as the fall in Credit Suisse stocks reignited some of the jitters among investors about the resilience of the global banking system in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB). .O).

($1 = 0.9173 Swiss Francs)

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

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