Qatar Investment Authority explored redress in Credit Suisse merger, Reuters says

Qatar Investment Agency explored legal redress for Credit Suisse merger with UBS

According to Reuters, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which had owned 7% of Credit Suisse (the stake is now slightly less than 7%), "has explored seeking redress for losses incurred by the bank's takeover" by UBS. Reuters says that QIA stands to lose roughly US$330 million on its equity stake in Credit Suisse as a result of the UBS transaction. Credit Suisse's other major shareholder is Saudi National Bank with a 10% stake.

The two Middle Eastern shareholders get to be diluted in the merger, where they will receive one UBS share for 22.48 Credit Suisse shares. Shareholders of Credit Suisse and UBS did not have a vote as the merger was directed by the Swiss regulators.

Separately, some 1,000 investors representing around a third of Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities are also planning litigation. In March, the Swiss regulators directed that these so-called loss absorbing securities to be written down to zero. Other jurisdictions including Singapore have clarified the hierarchy of claims in liquidation: equity holders will absorb losses before holders of AT1 and Tier 2 capital instruments.

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