Credit Suisse shares crash after investor dumping

London/Zurich — Investors dumped Credit Suisse shares and bonds on Monday after rival UBS agreed at the weekend to take over the 167-year old bank for just a fraction of its market value, with hefty backstops from the Swiss government.

Credit Suisse shares slid by almost 62% in Swiss premarket trading to about Sf0.61, while the value of its additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds — a type of contingent convertible bonds that is considered to be the riskiest type of debt banks can use — dropped as low as 1c on the dollar after the bank said Sf16-billion worth of the debt will be written down to zero.

The debt is being written down on the orders of the Swiss regulator as part of its rescue merger with UBS, it was announced on Sunday, angering bondholders.

A $1bn AT1 bond with a coupon of 4.5% was bid as low as 1c on the dollar, Tradeweb pricing showed.

“The next few hours of trading will give us a better picture on whether the crisis is contained,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, said.

“In theory, there is no reason for the Credit Suisse crisis to extend, as what triggered the last quake for Credit Suisse was a confidence crisis — which doesn’t concern UBS — a bank outside the turmoil, with, in addition, ample liquidity and guarantee from the SNB [Swiss National Bank] and the government.”

In a package orchestrated by Swiss regulators on Sunday, UBS will pay Sf3-billion for Credit Suisse and assume up to $5.4bn in losses.

At Friday’s close, Credit Suisse had a total market value of $8bn. Just six months ago, it was worth $13bn.

Shares in UBS meanwhile, dropped nearly 5% in premarket trading to about Sf15.81. 

Reuters