The big bank created perfect money-multiplying machines with the Greensill-Fonds. Thanks to a first-class rating, wealthy customers were able to lend 70 percent of their investment vehicles.
Published: 03/27/2021, 11:00 PM—
–Got to hold out his head for the fund debacle: Credit Suisse boss Thomas Gottstein.
Foto: Beat Mathys
The bankruptcy of the Credit Suisse Greensill Fund spreads wider circles. As research by the SonntagsZeitung has shown, the bank granted its customers large loans, which they secured with the Greensill papers. According to two internal sources, the funds could be mortgaged to 70 percent. This means that if a customer bought fund units for 100 francs, they received an additional 70 francs credit.
With a total volume of 10 billion dollars, customers could theoretically borrow up to 7 billion dollars. Credit Suisse customers received this so-called leverage to conduct further speculative transactions, for example for the purchase of stocks and derivatives – or even just to buy more Greensill paper.
