SNB to hold 0.5% stake in UBS Group after merger with Credit Suisse

SNB to hold 0.5% stake in UBS Group after merger with Credit Suisse

Saudi National Bank (SNB) said its 9.88 per cent shareholding in Credit Suisse Group will convert to approximately 0.5 per cent of UBS Group following the completion of the merger between the two Swiss banks. Credit Suisse was acquired by UBS in March for $3.2bn (CHF3bn) in a deal that was brokered by the Swiss government to stem the global banking crisis that was unleashed by the failure of two American banks earlier that month. SNB said its investment of $1.5bn (SAR5.5bn) in Credit Suisse plunged by approximately 20 per cent by the end of 2022 and further declined by 70 per cent during the first three months of 2023. The carrying value of the investment at the end of March was SAR1.3bn, SNB said in a bourse. Despite the financial impact on SNB’s equity, the lender said, “There was no income statement impact as SNB had made an irrevocable election, as permitted by the accounting standards, to present subsequent changes in the fair value of the Credit Suisse investment through other comprehensive income.” In March, Fitch Ratings said UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse would have a neutral impact on SNB’s A- rating, due mainly to the limited contribution of