Credit Suisse Shares Sink As Regulators Eye Probe On Its CEO

Shares of Swiss bank Credit Suisse fell to a record low Tuesday after regulators were reported to be reviewing comments the lender’s chairman made about the health of its finances.

Photo Insert: CEO Axel Lehmann and other bank representatives were reportedly aware that clients were still withdrawing funds when he told reporters that outflows had stopped.

The bank’s stock plunged as much as 9% to trade at 2.52 Swiss francs ($2.73), before recovering slightly, Olesya Dmitracova reported for CNN.

Earlier in the day, Reuters, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Switzerland’s financial regulator was seeking to establish the extent to which Axel Lehmann, and other bank representatives, were aware that clients were still withdrawing funds when he told reporters that outflows had stopped.

Lehmann made the remarks in interviews on December 1 and December 2, Reuters said. On December 2, the bank’s stock jumped by 9.3%.

Lehmann may not have been briefed correctly before he made those comments, according to one of the people quoted by Reuters. Credit Suisse told CNN Tuesday: “We do not comment on speculation.” The Swiss financial regulator, Finma, declined to comment.

The latest cloud to emerge over Credit Suisse follows news earlier this month that the bank had suffered its biggest annual loss since the financial crisis in 2008.

It said customers had withdrawn 111 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion) in the final quarter of 2022, when the bank was hit by social media speculation that it was on the brink of collapse. The rumors, which sparked a selloff in the lender’s shares, followed a series of missteps and compliance failures that cost Credit Suisse billions.

The bank is now in the middle of a major restructuring plan that entails cutting 9,000 full-time jobs, spinning off its investment bank, and focusing on wealth management. It expects to make another substantial loss in 2023, Julia Horowitz and Rob North also reported for CNN.

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