Credit Suisse says £55bn left bank before its rescue
The bank run helped to bring down the troubled lender earlier this year and it is now being taken over by rival UBS, in a deal to be completed soon.
Monday 24 April 2023 08:00, UK
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Credit Suisse says some 61bn Swiss francs (£55bn) left the bank in the first financial quarter this year.
The figure, reported as part of its financial results, shows the scale of the bank run that eventually defeated the 167-year-old institution a month ago.
The bank said on Monday: “These outflows have moderated but have not yet reversed as of 24 April, 2023.”
Assets managed by Credit Suisse’s flagship wealth management division dropped to 502.5bn francs (£453bn) at the end of March – compared with 707bn (£637bn) francs at the same time last year.
It is likely to be the last time Credit Suisse will report results, as its state-engineered marriage to rival UBS is expected to be completed soon.
Clients pulled their money after the bank was caught up in the market turmoil prompted by the collapse of US lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.
As fears grew that a wider banking collapse was imminent, Swiss authorities stepped in to cobble together a rescue package that included more than 200bn francs in financial guarantees.
It saw UBS agree to take over Credit Suisse for 3bn francs in stock and assume up to 5bn francs in losses.
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The mess wiped almost £144bn off the value of Europe’s banks at one point and, while there has been a recovery since, it is still worth £56bn less than it was before Silicon Valley Bank collapsed early in March.
Globally, up to a third of the 120,000 jobs at Credit Suisse are expected to go as part of the takeover, according to a report in the Financial Times last month.
More than 5,000 staff work at the bank’s London headquarters, including investment bankers, who are one of the groups most likely to face layoffs.
