What Happened at Credit Suisse and How Did it Reach At The Crisis Point
Credit Suisse is a Swiss multinational investment bank and financial services company. It is one of the largest banks in Switzerland and operates in more than 50 countries. In recent years, Credit Suisse has been facing a number of crises that have put its reputation and financial stability at risk.
One of the most significant crises that Credit Suisse has faced in recent years is the Archegos scandal. Archegos Capital Management was a family office that managed the wealth of hedge fund manager Bill Hwang. In March 2021, Archegos defaulted on margin calls from several banks, including Credit Suisse. This led to significant losses for Credit Suisse, which was forced to liquidate billions of dollars in positions related to Archegos.
Credit Suisse’s involvement with Archegos was not the only issue. The bank also suffered significant losses from the collapse of Greensill Capital, a supply chain finance company that it had lent money to Greensill went bankrupt in March 2021, leading to losses for Credit Suisse and other banks that had lent it money.
The Archegos and Greensill scandals were not the only problems that Credit Suisse faced. The bank was also implicated in the Wirecard scandal, which involved the collapse of a German payment processing company that was accused of fraud. Credit Suisse was one of several banks that had lent money to Wirecard and was accused of not doing enough due diligence on the company.
In addition to these scandals, Credit Suisse also faced problems with its risk management systems. In 2019, the bank was fined $135 million by the US Federal Reserve for its weak risk management processes. The bank was also fined $47 million by Swiss regulators in 2020 for failures in its anti-money laundering controls.
All of these issues have led to significant losses for Credit Suisse and put its financial stability at risk. In April 2021, the bank announced that it expected to report a significant loss for the first quarter of the year as a result of the Archegos scandal. The bank’s share price has also been hit, falling by around 30% since the beginning of the year.
To address these issues, Credit Suisse has announced a number of measures to improve its risk management processes and strengthen its balance sheet. These include a reduction in its exposure to prime brokerage services, which were a major factor in the Archegos scandal, and a suspension of share buybacks and dividends.
In conclusion, Credit Suisse has faced a number of crises in recent years, including the Archegos scandal, the collapse of Greensill Capital, and its involvement in the Wirecard scandal. These issues have put the bank’s financial stability at risk and led to significant losses. Credit Suisse has announced measures to address these problems, but it remains to be seen whether these will be sufficient to restore confidence in the bank.
Author & Editor: Daleep Singh