Credit Suisse bondholders are preparing a lawsuit against the bank

According to TV channel CNBC, bondholders of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse are preparing a lawsuit against him. On Sunday, Swiss financial regulator FINMA announced that the bank’s $17 billion AT1 bonds (unsecured bonds with perpetual maturity) issued by the bank are likely to be written down to zero. Recall that over the weekend, Credit Suisse was an emergency sold another Swiss bank – UBS – because perennial problems aggravated in recent months.

Analysts believe that holders of Credit Suisse shares are likely to receive some kind of payout as a result of the purchase of these securities by UBS. But holders of bonds, especially AT1, which are considered high-risk, can hardly count on compensation. In this regard, a number of Credit Suisse bondholders have already expressed their willingness to start legal proceedings. Yesterday, California-based law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan announced the start of negotiations between lawyers from Switzerland, the US and the UK to “possibly initiate litigation” on behalf of the bank’s bondholders. In turn, the investment director of Axiom Alternative Investments, David Benamu, who owns AT1 bonds from Credit Suisse, said that he was ready to join the lawsuit. He believes that perhaps other bondholders will do the same.

Evgeniy Khvostik