Credit Suisse Down 6.94% as Four Major Banks Limit Dealings With Swiss Lender

On March 17th, a report revealed that four major banks are limiting their dealings with the embattled Swiss lender. Credit Suisse’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange were down nearly 7% on Friday proving that investors and counterparties remain unimpressed with the rescue offer from the Swiss National Bank.

Major Banks Limit Credit Suisse-Related Trading

A report from Friday stated that several banks including Societe Generale, Deutsche, HSBC, and an unnamed company elected to limit dealings with Credit Suisse due to the turmoil currently affecting the lender. Deutsche Bank slashed the value of its Credit Suisse securities while Societe Generale decided not to further increase its counterparty positions with the Swiss lender. The other two entities are currently reevaluating their exposure as well as future prospects.

While Credit Suisse has been facing a string of problems of increasing severity for years, it came under increased scrutiny amidst the contagion spreading from the failure of three US banks in less than a week. On Monday, nearly all publicly-traded banking institutions in Europe and the United States found their shares rapidly dropping.

Things took a turn for the worse for the lender on Wednesday when one of its biggest partners, the Saudi National Bank, said it will stop providing financial assistance due to regulatory issues. Credit Suisse, however, received a slight reprieve on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank stated it would provide a $54 billion lifeline. The move was not universally welcomed as, along with Credit Suisse’s shares, the stock of the latter also dropped on Friday.

Is the Banking Crisis in the US Over?

European banks weren’t the only ones under pressure this week. After California, regulators closed the Silicon Valley Bank last Friday, and New York watchdogs took Signature Bank, numerous such companies in the country saw a major decrease in share price, a major confidence crisis.

Regional banks were hit particularly hard with the latest chapter of the turmoil developing around the First Republic Bank which saw its stock decline 32% on Friday alone, and a staggering 81% since the start of 2023—with the bulk of the drop occurring after Silvergate announced its liquidation on March 8th. So far, federal authorities have imposed extraordinary measures to combat the crisis and US banks have been borrowing from the FED’s discount window at rates not seen since the crisis of 2008.

A coalition of big banks joined forces to make a $30 billion worth show of confidence to the First Republic, but investors have, so far, remained unimpressed. The narrative surrounding the current turmoil also remains somewhat disturbing as various analysts have declared the crisis over on multiple occasions since the week started, but the situation is yet to fully stabilize.

So far, cryptocurrencies have proven the victors of the crisis as they have seen a major rally across the board, despite some initial fears stemming from the fall of two crypto-friendly banks. Since Monday, Bitcoin is up more than 21% and went from around $21,000 to above $27,000 in the last five days.

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