Saudi Nat'l Bank Chief Quits Over Credit Suisse Comments

The chairman of Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank (SNB), has quit less than two weeks after comments he made about the Swiss lender spurred a plunge in its share price, Hanna Ziadi reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: During an interview with Bloomberg TV on March 15, Al Khudairy ruled out increasing the bank’s stake in Credit Suisse.

The bank was rescued four days later after a crisis of confidence among investors and customers took it to the brink of insolvency. Ammar Al Khudairy had resigned “due to personal reasons” and would be replaced by CEO Saeed Mohammad Al Ghamdi, Saudi National Bank said.

During an interview with Bloomberg TV on March 15, Al Khudairy ruled out increasing the bank’s stake in Credit Suisse.

“The answer is absolutely not, for many reasons outside the simplest reason, which is regulatory and statutory,” Al Khudairy said. That was in response to a question on whether Saudi National Bank was open to further equity injections into Credit Suisse.

The banker said raising Saudi state in Credit Suisse would compel it to face strict regulation by Swiss authorities.

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