Qatar Investment Authority ups its stake in Credit Suisse

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) boosted its stake in the Credit Suisse Group to 6.87 per cent, according to a filing from the sovereign wealth fund.

With the purchase, QIA becomes the Swiss bank’s second largest shareholder — just behind the Saudi National Bank — after the Swiss bank issued new shares as part of a 4 billion Swiss franc ($4.3bn) capital raise it completed in December.

Earlier this month, the Swiss lender’s longtime largest shareholder Harris Associates, which once held a stake of about 10 per cent, reported a holding of below 3 per cent.

Middle Eastern shareholders

The Saudi National Bank, 37 per cent owned by the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, was an anchor investor in the Swiss bank’s capital raise and now holds a near 10 per cent stake in the firm, making it the top shareholder.

Read: Saudi National Bank to raise capital in Credit Suisse by $4.1bn

The Swiss bank has long counted on wealthy Middle Eastern investors as top shareholders and they’ve often invested in times of need. QIA participated in Credit Suisse’s approximately $2bn convertible note issuance in April 2021. That helped shore up the balance sheet after the bank lost $5.5bn tied to the collapsed hedge fund Archegos Capital Management.

The bank’s representative declined to comment. The Financial Times first reported the news.

Credit Suisse is undergoing a strategic revamp which includes plans to spin out its capital markets, advisory and leveraged finance businesses into a boutique unit under the Credit Suisse First Boston branding, while integrating its remaining trading businesses more closely with the wealth management business.