Credit Suisse arranges Swiss business sales to raise capital – FT

Oct 15 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse is preparing to sell part of its Swiss domestic bank as it tries to close a 4.5 billion Swiss franc ($4.48 billion) capital hole, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. .

The units considered for sale include a stake in Six Group, which runs the Zurich stock exchange, an 8.6 percent stake in Madrid-based technology company Allfunds, two specialized Swiss banks, Pfandbriefbank and Bank-Now, and Swisscard, a joint venture with American Express, the newspaper added.

Credit Suisse said in an emailed statement to Reuters: “When we report our third quarter earnings, we will update the progress on our overall strategy review.”

Last month, the FT reported that the bank had drawn up a plan to split the investment bank into three as it tries to emerge from three years of ongoing scandals.

Last year, it lost more than $5 billion in the collapse of investment firm Archagos, which had to freeze a client fund linked to financier Greensail Capital.

The bank wants to sell the iconic Savoy Hotel, located on the Paradeplatz in the heart of Zurich’s financial district. The hotel could be worth 400 million Swiss francs, financial blog Inside Paradeplatz reported earlier this month.

Credit Suisse is considering cutting around 5,000 jobs across the group as part of a cost-cutting drive, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters in September.

The bank is due to present its new business strategy on October 27 when it announces its third quarter results.

($1 = 1.0051 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Mirinmai Day; Editing by Clelia Oziel

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