Credit Suisse can complete lawsuit in France CS needs capital increase despite sale – according to media report

Credit Suisse has settled another lawsuit. In France, the major bank reached an agreement with the responsible authorities in criminal proceedings related to allegations of tax evasion and money laundering.

In particular, the second-largest Swiss bank is said to have helped French clients in cross-border private client affairs to hide assets from the tax authorities years ago. As the bank announced on Monday, it has now signed an agreement with the French financial prosecutor’s office Payment of a total of 238 million euros agreed.

The amount consists of a recovery of 65.6 million euros, a fine of 57.4 million euros and a payment to the French state of 115 million euros. A court has now given the green light to the agreement between CS and the French authorities.

Another lawsuit off the table

In the announcement, the management of CS was pleased with the settlement of the legal dispute in France. This is another important step in proactively resolving the outstanding legal disputes and to dismantle contaminated sites. The agreement includes: no admission of guilt on possible criminal offences.

Provisions had already been made for the case in France some time ago, which will affect the accounts for the third quarter. These have now been raised slightly in view of the agreement reached, according to banking circles.

Meanwhile, the troubled bank is happy that another inglorious capital is off the table. Several cases have recently been concluded in the US: a jury acquitted CS of the charge of manipulation in the foreign exchange market and a settlement of 495 million US dollars in connection with securitized residential mortgages.

Closing pending lawsuits soon

However, the files are still piling up on the table of Markus Diethelm, the chief legal officer at CS, who has been in office since early July. some pending lawsuits that need to be completed as soon as possible. Similar investigations to those in France are underway in the Netherlands and Belgium, as the bank in Bermuda is fighting $600 million in damages to former Georgian prime minister and client Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The bank wants to communicate next Thursday how it is going with Credit Suisse after numerous lawsuits, the debacles surrounding the US hedge fund Archegos and the closure of the Greensill fund, as well as numerous changes in top management. According to media reports, the focus is on selling parts of the company, reducing jobs and the potential need for fresh capital needed for the conversion.

(sda/awp)