The Chairman of the Saudi National Bank, which holds a major stake in Credit Suisse, is happy with the bank's restructuring. Still, the price of Credit Suisse shares continues to fall.
In a weaker overall market, Credit Suisse shares lost on Wednesday as on the previous day in the double-digit percentage range and thus fell below two francs the first time. Later in the morning, the share price hovered at around 1.75 francs after trading was suspended.
No Further Stake
Ammar Al Khudairy, Chairman of the Saudi National Bank (SNB) which holds nearly ten percent of Credit Suisse's outstanding shares, told «Reuters» on Wednesday he is happy with the transformation plan, adding the bank will not, in his view, need an additional infusion of capital.
He went on to say there are no plans for the SNB to take a larger stake in Credit Suisse. «We cannot because we would go above ten percent. It’s a regulatory issue,» he told the news outlet. Those comments appeared to have triggered further selling of Credit Suisse stocks.
«We are happy with the plan, the transformation plan that they have put forward. It is a very strong bank,» Al Khudairy said of the restructuring taking place under CEO Ulrich Koerner.
Ratios are Good
He also believes the bank which raised around four billion Swiss francs in new capital is in good shape. «I don't think they will need extra money; if you look at their ratios, they're fine. And they operate under a strong regulatory regime in Switzerland and other countries.» Al Khudairy made his comments to «Reuters» on the sidelines of a conference in Riyadh.
The SNB's investment is not viewed as being dependent on a specific time frame. Instead, the SNB will exit the position when the stock price has reached an appropriate value, he added. It acquired a stake of almost nearly ten percent after taking part in Credit Suisse's capital raising effort and committed to investing up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
