Credit Suisse launches $4bn Saudi-backed fundraising

Credit Suisse is seeking to raise SFr4bn ($4.05bn) of capital, including SFr1.5bn from the Saudi National Bank, through shares sales as part of efforts to restructure its business.

The Swiss lender has also agreed to sell its securitised products unit to US investment groups Pimco and Apollo and outlined plans to spin off its capital markets and advisory business over the next three years under a rejuvenated CS First Boston brand.

Credit Suisse said on Thursday that it would cut SFr2.5bn of costs, representing 15 per cent of its cost base, by 2025.

The moves are part of the lender’s second strategic revamp in less than a year, as it attempts to move on from a litany of scandals.

“This is a historic moment for Credit Suisse,” said chief executive Ulrich Körner. “We are radically restructuring the investment bank to help create a new bank that is simpler, more stable and with a more focused business model built around client needs.”

Körner was appointed chief executive in July with a mandate to strip back the accident-prone investment bank, find savings and dedicate more resources to wealth management.

Credit Suisse also reported a SFr342mn loss for the third quarter on Thursday after warning three months earlier that a loss was likely.

Analysts had expected Credit Suisse’s investment bank to perform poorly due to its reliance on sectors that have struggled in the third quarter, including leveraged finance and dealmaking.

The bank has also lost revenues after it cut back divisions such as its prime brokerage unit, part of the bank’s de-risking efforts following its involvement in two scandals last year over the collapse of Greensill Capital and family office Archegos.

Last week, Credit Suisse announced the sale of its 8.6 per cent stake in Allfunds, the listed Spanish investment company, from which it reaped €334mn.

The bank has also been clearing up a swath of legacy legal cases, including agreeing to pay a €238mn fine following a French investigation into tax evasion and money laundering, as well as a $495mn settlement with US prosecutors over financial crisis-era mortgage bond sales.

Credit Suisse shares are down 48 per cent this year at SFr4.76, having hit a record low earlier this month after becoming the target of social media speculation about its financial health.