Comments made in December by Credit Suisse's Chairman that client outflows had stopped drew the attention of the Swiss financial regulator. It has issued its decision.
Axel Lehmann's comments in a December interview saying that outflows of client funds have stopped, triggered an investigation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma). The regulator issued its decision with an announcement Friday evening.
When Credit Suisse released its annual results in February showing that clients had further withdrawn funds, it led to reactions in the financial markets. Finma investigated whether the statements made gave «rise to indications of a violation of financial market law, which must be clarified within the framework of supervisory proceedings.»
With its investigation complete, the regulator «sees no sufficient grounds to open supervisory proceedings,» according to the statement.
Finma Scolding
While no supervisory measures will be taken against Credit Suisse, Finma laid out what it expects of the bank about its communication policy in the future, although it did not go into detail about what those expectations are.
Record Low
Turbulence in the US banking sector and the fact that Credit Suisse had to postpone the publication of its 2022 annual report planned for last Thursday following a last-minute objection by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led to significant declines in its stock price.
When the Finma review was announced, Credit Suisse's already depressed stock price came under further pressure. At Friday's close, the cost of a Credit Suisse share was 2.496 Swiss francs.
Finma said it won't comment further on the investigation or supervisory activities.
For its part, Credit Suisse issued a one-paragraph statement that it was informed by Finma of its decision not to open regulatory proceedings.
