Saudi National Bank, which wants to become the main shareholder of Credit Suisse (CS), wants to keep its investment “at least two years”. President Ammar al-Khudairy said in an interview with the television channel “Al Arabiya” on Wednesday that the Saudi Arabian financial institution also does not want to be on the board of CS.
The head of the Saudi investor said it will take one and a half to two years to implement the CS restructuring plan presented on Thursday. He assumes that if the plan is successfully implemented, the major Swiss bank’s rating will again rise significantly. The Saudi National Bank could then “start thinking of an exit,” he added: “So maybe 2024 or 2025.”
Intentionally chosen amount of participation
In the interview, al-Khudairy emphasized that his 9.9 percent stake in CS was deliberately chosen. “If a bank owns more than 9.9 percent of other banks, it falls into a new category.” Accordingly, the person does not want to go beyond this. He also stressed that the announced investment of CHF 1.5 billion is the “upper cap” that the Saudi bank has set on itself.
In-depth remodeling
Patient Credit Suisse presented sweeping restructuring measures last week to get out of the current crisis. The loss-making investment bank will be drastically reduced and thousands of jobs will be laid off in the coming years. At the same time, the bank is looking to raise new capital of CHF 4 billion.
The Saudi National Bank has committed to an investment of CHF 1.5 billion. As the “Financial Times” reported on Wednesday, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is apparently also looking to increase its stake in Credit Suisse as part of its capital increase. Qataris already own about 5 percent of CS.
Meanwhile, Saudi investment firm Olayan wants to retain its 5 percent stake in the bank, even after the capital increase. If the capital increase went like this, investors from Saudi Arabia and Qatar would have a stake of between 20 and 25 percent in the second largest Swiss bank. (SDA)