To settle a probe over its sale of toxic mortgage securities in the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis, the U.S. Department of Justice has asked Credit Suisse to pay an amount much higher than expected.
Citing more than one source news agency «Reuters» says Credit Suisse is confident of reaching a better solution than an amount between $5 billion and $7 billion. However if negotiations fail, U.S. legal authorities could sue the Zurich based bank, prolonging the uncertainty.
According to the report Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam, met with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch last week indicating that a potential resolution could come as early as this week.
The Swiss bank is also defending itself against lawsuits by the New York and New Jersey attorneys general over similar claims involving billions of dollars of investor losses.
Trump on The Horizon
Deutsche Bank saw its shares plunge this year when news broke of its Department of Justice (DoJ) probe in connection with the bank’s issuance and underwriting of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) and related securitization activities.
Earlier this year Julius Baer reached a final settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with its legacy U.S. cross-border private banking business.
Credit Suisse may well wish to expedite the process before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office in late January.
