Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

SNB plan to take 40% Credit Suisse stake halted by regulator

By Pramod Kumar
Credit Suisse in Bern Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann
Saudi National Bank became an anchor investor in Credit Suisse’s $4.3 billion capital raise in October 2022

Saudi National Bank (SNB) wanted to increase its stake in Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, to 40 percent from 9.88 percent, Zürich-based Blick daily reported.

However, Swiss regulator Finma stopped the bank from making the move.

Finma must approve a foreign investor taking a stake of more than 10 percent in a major Swiss bank, the newspaper reported citing informed sources.

In March, the Saudi bank’s chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said during an interview with Bloomberg TV that investing any more would increase its current 10 percent stake in the Swiss lender, leading to regulatory issues.

“If we go above 10 percent, all new rules kick in, whether it be by our regulator or the Swiss regulator or the European regulator,” he said.

UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for three billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion) on March 19 in a rescue plan driven by Swiss authorities.

In May, SNB’s nearly 10 percent shareholding in Credit Suisse was converted to 0.5 percent of UBS following the merger of the two Swiss lenders.

SNB, 37 percent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, became an anchor investor in Credit Suisse’s $4.3 billion capital raise, which began in October to fund the bank’s revamp and restructuring. 

The stake, initially worth 1.4 billion Swiss francs ($1.53 billion), has since lost more than 500 million francs, according to a Bloomberg report.

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, had increased its stake in Credit Suisse to just under 7 percent in January, becoming the Swiss bank’s second-largest shareholder behind SNB.

QIA bought 139.03 million shares in the Swiss lender, bringing its ownership to 6.87 percent.

Another Saudi Arabian conglomerate, Olayan Group, owned a stake of about 3 percent, Eikon data showed.

Latest articles

STC wants to consolidate the mobile tower market

STC approves PIF purchase of telecom company

Shareholders of Saudi telecom giant STC have approved plans to create a new telecommunications infrastructure company in which the Public Investment Fund will have a 51 percent stake valued at SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion).  Under the deal, the STC-owned Telecommunication Towers Co. Limited (Tawal) will become a PIF subsidiary through a merger with Golden Lattice […]

Flavio Cattaneo of Enel, of which Endesa is a subsidiary, and Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi at the signing of the deal

Masdar buys stake in Spanish utilities company Endesa

The UAE’s state-owned clean energy company Masdar has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Spanish electric utility business Endesa to partner for 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy assets in Spain. Under the agreement, subject to regulatory approval, Masdar will invest nearly $890 million to acquire a 49.99 percent stake in Endesa, with an […]

UAE markets Hong Kong

UAE capital markets partner with Hong Kong exchange

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) has added the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) to its roster of recognised marketplaces. The move opens the door for UAE-based companies to pursue secondary listings on one of Asia’s premier financial markets. It also follows the inclusion of the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) […]

Person, Worker, Adult

Aramco and PIF invest in Saudi-Chinese steel venture

Saudi Aramco and the Public Investment Fund have doubled their investment in a steel plate joint venture with a Chinese company to $500 million. The two Saudi companies each own 25 percent shares in the new venture in Ras Al Khair industrial city, Bloomberg reported, quoting a statement published on the Chinese stock exchange. Chinese […]