Saudi National Bank was denied taking 40pc Credit Suisse stake: report

VIENNA: Saudi National Bank wanted to increase its stake in Credit Suisse to around 40% from 9.88%, but was prevented from doing so by Swiss regulator FINMA, Blick newspaper reported on Sunday.

With Switzerland’s second-largest bank on the edge of collapse, UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for a knockdown price of three billion Swiss francs ($3.4 billion) on March 19 in a rescue orchestrated by Swiss authorities.

FINMA must give its approval for a foreign investor to take a stake of more than 10% in a major Swiss bank.

It was not clear why FINMA opposed the move that would have involved Saudi National Bank, which was already the biggest shareholder in Credit Suisse, pumping $5 billion into the bank, Swiss newspaper Blick reported, without identifying its sources.

Credit Suisse declined to comment. FINMA and Saudi National Bank were not immediately available for comment.