US Senate banking chair queries Credit Suisse and other banks on Archegos

US Senate banking chair queries Credit Suisse and other banks on Archegos

The chair of the US Senate banking committee has written to four major banks, including Credit Suisse and Nomura, seeking answers about the implosion of Archegos Capital, in a sign that lawmakers in Washington are ramping up scrutiny of family offices and their lenders.

Sherrod Brown, the Democratic senator from Ohio who chairs the powerful committee, on Thursday sent letters to Credit Suisse, Nomura, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley asking for detailed explanations of their dealings with Bill Hwang's Archegos and family offices more broadly. Brown gave the lenders two weeks to reply to his request.

"I am troubled, but not surprised, by the news reports that Archegos entered into risky derivatives transactions facilitated by major investment banks, resulting in panicked selling of stocks worth tens of billions of dollars and those banks collectively losing nearly $10bn,“ Brown said in his letter to Crystal Lalime, general counsel at Credit Suisse.

"The details and ultimate consequence of Archegos's failure remain to be seen, but the massive transactions, and losses, raise several questions regarding Credit Suisse's relationship with Archegos and the treatment of so-called family offices, Hwang's history, and the transactions that have been mentioned in news reports,“ Brown added.

The intervention comes after several big