A group of Gulf investors, including a bank and a sovereign wealth fund, has become one of the biggest losers from the crisis that hit the Credit Suisse banking group, which has reached its peak, the agency said. BloombergWith UBS Group’s agreement, it acquires the troubled bank for less than its appraised value.
Among the losers, Bloomberg said, investments in the National Bank of Saudi Arabia fell by about $1 billion in a few months, as did the Qatar Investment Authority, a longtime supporter of Credit Suisse, whose 6.8% stake in the bank fell.
The 9.9 percent stake UBS now owns after the bid is worth about 304 million francs ($329 million), according to Bloomberg calculations.
Saudi Arabia’s National Bank, which is 37% owned by the Public Investment Fund, invested 1.4 billion francs in Credit Suisse at the end of last year.
Shares of the Swiss bank have wiped more than $25 billion off their market value, falling by about a third since that period.
Qatar Fund’s participation in Credit Suisse’s April 2021 issuance of nearly $2 billion in convertible bonds helped shore up its balance sheet, becoming the second-largest shareholder in January when the Qatar Investment Authority raised its stake in Credit Suisse from 5 to 6.867 percent. percent.
As the crisis came to a head last week, Bloomberg says it is unclear whether the Swiss government consulted with key backers before unveiling the emergency UPS deal.
The deal called for UBS to buy the bank, giving some guarantees to depositors, but at a significantly lower value than the bank’s previous value.
“Award-winning beer geek. Extreme coffeeaholic. Introvert. Avid travel specialist. Hipster-friendly communicator.”
