Qatar Investment Authority plans to raise Credit Suisse stake

Qatar Investment Authority plans to raise Credit Suisse stake

The Qatar Investment Authority plans to increase its stake in Credit Suisse by investing in a share sale alongside the Saudi National Bank, according to people with knowledge of the talks.

The deal will result in up to a quarter of Credit Suisse stock being owned by Middle Eastern investors, as the scandal-plagued lender seeks to raise SFr4bn ($4bn) to fund a radical restructure.

Last week, the Swiss bank announced it would strip back and spin off its investment bank, reduce its global workforce by 9,000 and cut SFr2.5bn of costs in a three-year strategic revamp aimed at moving on from a succession of crises and quarterly losses.

The SNB — whose own largest shareholder is the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund — has agreed to invest SFr1.5bn in Credit Suisse for a 9.9 per cent stake.

While the majority of the investment will be made through a SFr1.76bn initial share placement, to be signed off at an extraordinary general meeting on November 23, the SNB will also take part in a SFr2.24bn rights issue later in the year.

The SNB will be joined by two other investors in the share placement, including QIA, which already owns 5 per cent of Credit