Credit Suisse may be gaining another secretive Middle East investor, according to a new report. The move comes as Qatar is adjusting its own billion-dollar stake in the Swiss bank.

Saudia Arabia is holding secret Swiss bank talks, the «Financial Times» reported on Tuesday. The newspaper came up short on why, which bank, and over what, but several signs point to Credit Suisse.

The backdrop is stormy: Saudi Arabia has arrested a host of businessmen and officials including well-known investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, on charges of money-laundering. The 11 arrested earlier this month are believed to have to pony up millions in assets to Saudi Arabia, where a millennial crown prince is the power behind the throne.

The «FT» reports that Saudi Arabia is intrigued by Credit Suisse, where Qatar is the second-largest shareholder and an activist hedge fund is agitating for change. 

Saudis Intrigued?

Qatar, getting the economic squeeze from Saudi Arabia, is clearly looking at its options: the emirate left the bank's board earlier this year and marginally trimmed its stake. And Credit Suisse has quietly decided to buy back two lucrative crisis-era bond instruments, finews.com reported last month.

The emergence of Saudi Arabia in the Credit Suisse saga comes as the bank tangles faces calls from RBR Capital Advisers to break itself up. RBR, which is led by former broker Rudolf Bohli who believes Credit Suisse worth more in three parts than in its current, combined state, has a sovereign wealth fund «waiting in the wings,» the newspaper reported last week.

Is it Saudi Arabia? There is no telling, but it is unlikely that the two wealthy states would bed down in a major shareholding together. To be sure, Saudi Arabia's wealthy Olayan clan is already a 5 percent stakeholder in Credit Suisse.

Prying Swiss Data?

Switzerland has another touchpoint to Saudi Arabia: UBS and Credit Suisse are leading purveyors of their services to the Middle East's oil-rich class. The «FT» punts that Saudi Arabia's new crown prince, 32-year-old Mohammad bin Salman, is trying to get at hidden Swiss bank data on Saudi Arabia's rich like Alwaleed, one of the world's richest men and big investor in Citigroup.

Anyone who has watched the U.S. attempt to pry data on American clients out of Swiss banks can only laugh at this – Switzerland's banks won't violate Swiss law simply because a millennial royal wants them to.

The two Swiss giants may be in on the now-troubled listing for Saudi Aramco, set to go ahead next year. According to the «FT», any move by Saudi Arabia towards Credit Suisse won't happen until next year – in the hope that the political and economic commotion from the arrest sweep has calmed.