ZURICH – Tens of billions were withdrawn from Credit Suisse in the first three months of 2023, the bank’s earnings report showed today, providing clues to the towering challenges ahead as UBS prepares an emergency takeover.
Switzerland’s long-time second-largest bank saw 61.2 billion Swiss francs (RM305.5 billion) withdrawn in the first quarter alone, it said yesterday in what is likely its final quarterly report before it is swallowed by its larger domestic rival, UBS.
The bank also reported deceptively bloated net profits for the quarter, after its high-risk debts were wiped out in the mega-merger deal, but warned of “substantial” losses to come.
Investors had been eagerly awaiting the results as they seek clues to the magnitude of the challenges facing UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, after it was strong armed last month by Swiss authorities into the shotgun marriage.
The results seemed to be greeted with some optimism.
In early afternoon trading, Credit Suisse’s shares rose 0.6% to 0.80 Swiss francs a piece and UBS’s closed up 0.8% at 18.20 francs a share, as the Swiss stock exchange’s main SMI index remained basically flat.
‘Bad shape’
But Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti warned in a research note that Credit Suisse’s report “reveals the bad shape the firm is in”.
“UBS undoubtedly faces a major (and urgent) task in deeply restructuring its former competitor.”
Credit Suisse said the “significant net asset outflows” were particularly heavy in the second half of March, as it was engulfed by panic in the days surrounding the hastily arranged takeover.
“These outflows have moderated but have not yet reversed as of April 24, 2023,” the bank said in its earnings statement.
Analysts with the Zurich Cantonal Bank stressed that Credit Suisse’s outflows for the quarter were “less than feared”.
But they come after the bank already saw 110.5 billion francs in outflows in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Venditti pointed out that over the past six months, Credit Suisse’s wealth management division alone had seen 140 billion francs in net new money outflows.
The bank meanwhile said it saw its net profit swell in the first quarter to 12.4 billion francs, up from a significant loss a year earlier.
Debt wipe out
But that was largely attributed to holders of high-risk Credit Suisse debt being wiped out in the emergency takeover deal.
Swiss authorities required that close to 16 billion Swiss francs in so-called additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds be rendered worthless before Switzerland’s two biggest banks united.
The order by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority infuriated bond holders, and a number of them have begun launching legal action against the regulator.
Credit Suisse said its quarterly results were also boosted by the 700-million-Swiss-franc sale of a significant part of its Securitised Products Group to Apollo Global Management.
But despite this, on an adjusted basis, the bank said it nonetheless suffered a pre-tax loss for the quarter of 1.3 billion Swiss francs.
The bank, which last October launched a vast restructuring plan including carving out its investment arm, said that unit had suffered an adjusted pre-tax loss of 337 million Swiss francs in the first quarter.
‘Substantial’ losses
And it warned that it expected to see “substantial” pre-tax losses in its investment bank unit and overall in the second quarter and full year of 2023.
Credit Suisse also said yesterday that it had scrapped a deal to acquire the investment advisory business of M. Klein & Company and fold it into the First Boston brand, which it had planned to resurrect as part of its investment bank overhaul.
The bank said the sides had “mutually agreed to terminate” the US$175-million (RM775.2-million) acquisition “considering Credit Suisse’s recently announced merger with UBS.”
Credit Suisse suffered a string of scandals over the past several years, and after the collapse of three US regional banks unleashed market panic, it was left looking like the weakest link in the chain.
Over the course of a nerve-wracking weekend, Swiss authorities organised an emergency rescue, pressuring UBS to agree to a US$3.25-billion mega merger on the evening of March 19.
To stay afloat, Credit Suisse was forced to draw on emergency liquidity made available by the central bank.
As of March 31, it had borrowed 108 billion Swiss francs, but stressed that it had already repaid some 70 billion by April 24.
The crisis came after Credit Suisse in 2022 suffered a 7.3-billion-franc loss.
That stood in stark contrast to the US$7.6 billion profit raked in last year by UBS, which is due to publish its first quarter results today. – AFP, April 25, 2023
