There are many reasons why the already abysmal share price of Credit Suisse (CS) has fallen by 14 percent to 2.75 francs over the past four weeks. Now another one has been added: The American financial investor and former major shareholder Harris Associates has sold all CS shares and has thus exited the major Swiss bank. This was announced by David Herro, deputy head of Harris Associates, in an interview with the Financial Times. Harris Associates was one of Credit Suisse's long-standing shareholders and owned around 10 percent of the bank. In the wake of the capital increase of 4 billion Swiss francs launched at the end of October, which paved the way for the Saudi National Bank to enter the market, Harris Associates gradually reduced its stake to 3 percent. Now the Americans have also sold this rest.

Johannes Ritter

Correspondent for politics and economics in Switzerland.

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"The question arises as to the future of the division. There have been large outflows from wealth management," Herro said, referring to the core business with high net worth individuals. As reported, CS customers withdrew a net CHF 2022 billion from the scandal-plagued bank in the fourth quarter of 111 alone. CS ended the full year with a loss of 7.3 billion Swiss francs, while many of its rivals, including UBS and Deutsche Bank, made billions in profits. The CS Executive Board also expects a significant deficit in the current year.

According to the FT, Herro is not convinced that the planned group restructuring, which is to be accompanied by a spin-off and restructuring of the investment bank and a strengthening of the asset management business, will turn the tide. He complains about the high costs and the lack of transparency regarding the transaction with the former CS board member Michael Klein. The American is playing a key role in the planned revitalization of the Credit Suisse First Boston unit, which is to be listed on the stock exchange in the future. Herro is also dissatisfied with the proceeds from the sale of the securitised products business. The financial manager also points out that many European financials are moving in a completely different direction thanks to rising interest rates: "Why invest in something that burns capital when the rest of the sector is now generating it?"

A spokeswoman for CS responded to Herro's accusations with two general sentences: "We have set clear strategic goals and have already made great progress. We are focused on successfully executing the strategy to achieve our goals and ensure that the new Credit Suisse delivers sustainable value for all our stakeholders over the medium term." The spokeswoman did not want to comment on the exit of Harris Associates as a shareholder.

In the second half of February, David Herro described Credit Suisse as a takeover candidate in view of its low share price. A major competitor like JP Morgan could buy the bank, which is traded far below book value and brings only 11 billion francs on the stock exchange scales, cheaply, keep some parts of the asset management and the investment bank and sell other parts or, for example, bring the (comparatively profitable) Swiss business to the stock exchange, Herro told the Swiss newspaper "Finanz und Wirtschaft". In light of the exit from CS, these statements sound like an attempt to bring up the bank's share price in order to limit its own losses.