Qatar Funding Authority raises stake in Credit score Suisse to only below 7%

DUBAI – Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund has elevated its stake in Credit score Suisse to only below 7%, turning into the Swiss financial institution’s second-largest shareholder after Saudi Nationwide Financial institution, in an indication that its Gulf investor base is rising in significance.

The Qatar Funding Authority (QIA) purchased 139.03 million shares within the Swiss lender, Refinitiv knowledge reveals primarily based on a submitting on Friday with the Securities and Change Fee which quoted its most up-to-date possession holding as of December 31, 2022.

The brand new shares deliver the QIA’s possession in Credit score Suisse to six.87%, amounting to 272.25 million shares, from 5.57% as reported in its final SEC submitting in November.

Credit score Suisse declined to remark when contacted by Reuters on Monday and the QIA didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Credit score Suisse’s shares rose 2.2% on Monday to shut at 3.15 Swiss francs.

U.S. funding agency Harris Associates, one among Credit score Suisse’s largest shareholders, shed its holding to about 5%, in accordance with regulatory filings on January 11from a stake of about 10% within the financial institution final August.

Saudi Nationwide Financial institution owns a stake price about 10% within the Swiss lender financial institution after it turned an anchor investor in Credit score Suisse’s $4.3 billion capital increase which started in October to fund the financial institution’s revamp and restructuring. Saudi Arabian conglomerate Olayan Group owns a stake of about 3%, Eikon knowledge reveals. SNB, together with the QIA and Olayan Group, account for about 20% of Credit score Suisse shares. Credit score Suisse outlined plans in October to lift 4 billion Swiss francs from traders, reduce 1000’s of jobs and shift its focus from funding banking in direction of its wealthy purchasers.

The announcement adopted a tough few weeks when the one-time revered Swiss establishment had even develop into a ‘meme inventory’ on the centre of a social media storm.

As soon as a logo for Swiss reliability, the financial institution’s fame has been tarnished by a sequence of scandals, together with an unprecedented prosecution at dwelling involving laundering cash for a prison gang.

In 2021, the financial institution took a $5.5 billion loss from the unravelling of U.S. funding agency Archegos and needed to freeze $10 billion price of provide chain finance funds linked to bancrupt British financier Greensill, highlighting risk-management failings.

(Reporting by Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai, Oliver Hirt in Zurich and Andrew Mills in Doha Enhancing by Nick Zieminski)