Harris Associates, the largest and oldest shareholder in the US that will remain to the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, has sold its stake in the bank, as confirmed by the manager’s investment director, David Herro, in an interview with ‘Financial Times’ this Sunday. The Chicago-based manager will have around 10% of the capital in August and 5% in December, but at the start of the turbulent 2023 it has liquidated its position. The bank’s shares fell 1% on Monday to 2.76 Swiss francs.
In this way, Harris ends his presence in the Swiss entity after 20 years as a shareholder. The manager joins other investments that have been reducing her holding after losing patience with Credit Suisse’s strategy to stem persistent losses and customer churn. Harris, who had remained loyal despite a series of scandals at Credit Suisse, disclosed a stake of around 10% in the bank last August but reduced it to 5% in January, Reuters reports.
Harris had begun reducing his exposure in October after Credit Suisse completed a 4 billion Swiss franc (4.2 billion euro) capital increase that was backed by the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, the entity’s new top shareholder with 9.9% of the shares. It is followed by the Qatar Investment Authority, with 6.8%, and Olayan Europe, another Saudi entity, with 3.33%.
Other notable shareholders of Credit Suisse left at the end of 2022 the American manager Dodge & Cox, with 2%, the British Silchester International Investors LLP, with 1.9%, the sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank IM with 1.5%. , and BlackRock Fund Asesores, with 1.5%.
Credit Suisse reported a sharp acceleration in outflows of managed assets in the fourth quarter to 110 billion Swiss francs. The bank, Switzerland’s second largest, has also begun a major restructuring of its business, cutting costs and jobs, including creating a separate business for its investment bank under the brand
Credit Suisse last month reported its biggest annual loss since the 2008 global financial crisis after nervous customers withdrew billions from the bank. Its numbers were worse than analyst projections in the fourth quarter with a net loss attributable to shareholders of 1,320 million Swiss francs (1,337 million euros), which raise the red numbers for the whole of 2022 to 0 7.30 He warned of a new “substantial” loss this year.
