Credit Suisse shares jump on rumours of Saudi Crown Prince investment
Shares in beleaguered lender Credit Suisse have been given a boost today on reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is poised to snap up a stake of its spun out investment banking division.
Credit Suisse is set to resurrect its CS First Boston brand by spinning out the unit as part of emergency restructuring plans, after a string of scandals and heavy losses this year.
Mohammed Bin Salman is now planning to take a stake of as much as $500m into the new unit, the Wall Street Journal first reported.
The former chief of Barclays Bob Diamond is also reportedly eyeing a stake in the firm via his investment vehicle Atlas merchant Capital.
Shares in the firm jumped beyond four per cent in early tradung before settling to trade up around 3.66 per cent as of 13:55.
Plans to spin out the unit come as part of an emergency turnaround effort as chiefs look to stem heavy losses. Credit Suisse warned investors it was braced for a loss of $1.5bn (£1,32bn) in the final quarter of the year.
Shares in the lender have been in freefall since early 2021 when the firm was rocked by its ties to collapsed firms Archegos Capital and Greensill Capital, shedding over 75 per cent of their value.