Credit Suisse shares plunge to fresh lows as chair faces investigation
Shares in beleaguered lender Credit Suisse plunged to record lows today after it was revealed that chair Axel Lehmann is under investigation by Swiss regulators over potentially misleading claims he made to the media last year.
The Swiss financial regulator Finma is reportedly scrutinising whether Lehmann was aware that investors were still pulling cash from the firm when he told media that outflows had stabilised, Reuters reported.
Credit Suisse reported on the 9th February that clients had withdrawn 110.5 billion Swiss francs ($119.65 billion) in the last three months of 2022.
Those outflows exceeded market expectations and rounded off a weak set of results that led to the stock falling about 15 per cent on the day.
Shares in Credit Suisse plunged to trade at around 2.62 Swiss francs – the lowest level in two decades – following the news.
Credit Suisse declined to comment.
Speaking to Reuters, analyst Daniel Bosshard said: “Was Axel Lehmann insufficiently informed or did he consciously or did he deliberately gloss over the matter? Whatever the case, this is yet another inglorious chapter in the history of Credit Suisse.”
News of the inquiry comes after a string of scandals and heavy losses for the Swiss bank. The bank earlier this month reported its heaviest annual loss since financial crisis after clients scrambled to withdraw cash, and bosses warned that a further “substantial” losses would come this year.