Now less than three percent
Credit Suisse shareholder Harris Associates continues to reduce stake
At Credit Suisse, a former major shareholder continues to reduce his stake. The stake of the US investment company Harris Associates has now fallen below the reportable mark of 3 percent.
At Credit Suisse, a former major shareholder continues to reduce his stake. The stake of the US investment company Harris Associates has now fallen below the reportable mark of 3 percent. (archive image)
This emerges from a mandatory report published on Wednesday on the Swiss stock exchange SIX. In the summer of 2022, Harris Associates had put its own stake in the major Swiss bank at just over 10 percent.
In October, the US company, which belongs to the French Natixis Group, expressly backed the big bank’s restructuring plans, which included cost savings and a downsizing of the investment bank as well as a capital increase.
In the report to the Swiss stock exchange, the reason for the new decrease in participation is the sale of shares. In December 2022, Harris Associates of the Swiss Stock Exchange had already announced that its stake had fallen to almost 3.7 percent compared to 6.2 percent before – at that time, however, the capital increase was cited as the trigger.
In addition to the share held by the investment manager himself, the share held by the Harris Associates Investment Trust had also been shown separately for years, although these are apparently shares that are managed by the US company for its own funds. However, according to a corresponding report, the participation of the Harris Associates Investment Trust fell below the reportable mark of 3 percent in December in the course of the capital increase.
Harris owned a significant stake in Credit Suisse for almost 10 years. In November 2013, the company reported a stake of just over 5 percent in the big bank for the first time. In particular, Harris investment boss David Herro had often commented on the processes of the crisis-ridden big bank. In the spring of 2022, however, he admitted that Harris should have sold the shares after the events surrounding former CEO Tidjane Thiam.
The US investment company has suffered severe price losses on its stake in CS in recent years. In November 2013, the CS share was still worth around 22 francs. On Tuesday (yesterday) the paper of the big bank closed at CHF 3.06.
Since the most recent capital increase, Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder has been the Saudi National Bank, which reported a 9.88 percent stake in the big bank. Other major shareholders are the Qatar Investment Authority (5.03 percent), the Saudi Olayan Group (5.0 percent) and the US investment company Blackrock (4.96 percent).
(SDA)