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Saudi crown prince eyes up Credit Suisse spin-off - report

By Abigail Townsend

Date: Monday 05 Dec 2022

Saudi crown prince eyes up Credit Suisse spin-off - report

(Sharecast News) - Saudi Arabia's crown prince is considering investing $500m in Credit Suisse Group's new investment bank, it was reported on Monday.
According to the Wall Street Journal, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is considering the investment alongside Atlas Merchant Capital, the US private equity firm run by former Barclays head Bob Diamond. According to the WSJ, Atlas is considering investing a similar amount.

The Swiss lender has yet to comment on the report, however, while the WSJ confirmed that the bank had yet to receive a formal proposal from any Saudi entity.

Credit Suisse unveiled a major restructuring in October, as it looked to draw a line under a number of financial scandals and mounting losses.

As well as looking to raise billions in fresh capital and cutting costs - including plans to axe around 9,000 jobs over the next three years - recently installed chief executive Ulrich Korner announced plans to spin out the capital markets and advisory business as the bank refocused on wealth management.

The First Boston brand has been resurrected for the new unit, with board member Michael Klein named chief executive designate. The complex separation is likely to take up to three years.

Saudi National Bank - which is controlled by the government of Saudi Arabia - has already agreed to invest up to 1.5bn Swiss francs (£1.31bn) in Credit Suisse for a stake of up to 9.9%.

It is not known if the crown prince's investment in CS First Boston will be made directly or through SNB, the WJS noted. The crown prince is chair the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, which is the other main owner of SNB.

As at 1100 GMT, Credit Suisse shares had put on 5% in Zurich, and were up 3% in pre-market trading in New York.

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