A group of Gulf investors, including a bank and a sovereign investment agency, have become among the biggest losers due to the crisis that hit the Credit Suisse banking group, which has reached its climax, according to the agency. bloombergwith the agreement of the UBS Group to acquire the troubled bank for an amount less than its appraised value.
Among the losers, Bloomberg says, is the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, whose investments fell by about $1 billion in a matter of months, as well as the Qatar Investment Authority, long-term supporter of Credit Suisse, whose 6.8% stake in the bank collapsed.
The 9.9 percent stake it now owns is worth about 304 million francs ($329 million) after UBS’ bid, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The National Bank of Saudi Arabia, which is 37% owned by the Public Investment Fund, invested 1.4 billion francs in Credit Suisse late last year.
Shares of the Swiss bank have fallen by about a third since that period, wiping more than $25 billion from its market value.
The Qatar Fund’s participation in Credit Suisse’s issuance of nearly $2 billion in convertible bonds in April 2021 helped support its balance sheet, and in January the Qatar Investment Authority became the second largest shareholder in Credit Suisse when it raised its stake to 6.87 percent from about 5.6 percent.
With last week’s crisis coming to a head, Bloomberg says it’s unclear whether the Swiss government consulted with major backers before revealing the seemingly hasty UBS deal.
The deal called for UBS to buy the bank, giving depositors some guarantees, but at a significantly lower value than the bank’s previous value.
