(News Bulletin 247) – The action of the Swiss bank hit a new low on the stock market on Tuesday, while its president may have communicated in early December false information on the real amount of outflows of funds.

Credit Suisse shares faltered again on Tuesday, hitting a new all-time low on news reports that the Swiss market watchdog is reviewing comments its chairman made in December on outflows.

At 2:24 p.m. GMT, the action lost 5.34% to 2.623 Swiss francs, far behind the SMI, the benchmark index of the Swiss Stock Exchange, down 0.13%. In the middle of the session, the title lost more than 8%, sinking a new low, falling to 2.52 Swiss francs.

According to the Reuters agency, which cites two informed sources without naming them, Finma, the market surveillance authority is in the process of examining remarks by the president, Axel Lehmann, who had assured in December that the outflows of funds will were stabilized.

At the end of November, the bank had issued a warning on its results for the last quarter, in particular because of heavy outflows of funds from its customers in the face of repeated scandals which tarnished its image and intense speculation throughout the month of October. about its restructuring plans.

But its president then wanted to reassure, saying in early December to the British financial daily Financial Times that the outflows of funds had leveled off and had begun to reverse. In the following days, he had made similar comments in an interview with the Bloomberg agency as well as with the German-speaking Swiss radio and television station to which Mr. Lehmann had explained that the outflows of funds had stabilized.

Cash outflows above market expectations

But when publishing its annual results in early February, the bank reported cash outflows amounting to 110.5 billion Swiss francs (112.1 billion euros at current rates), going well beyond the market expectations. Based on information provided by the bank, an analyst had valued them at 84 billion francs at the end of November. Contacted by AFP, Finma declined to comment. The bank has indicated that it does not comment on rumours.

The number two in the Swiss banking sector has been rocked by repeated scandals since the March 2021 bankruptcy of the British financial company Greensill, followed by the implosion of the American hedge fund Archegos.

In October, the bank launched a major restructuring project. But it reported in early February a heavy loss equivalent to nearly 7.4 billion euros for 2022.

(With AFP)