Law firms are seeking to unite Asian holders of the now-defunct Credit Suisse’s erased additional tier 1 bonds to launch legal action against the Swiss government.
London-based Withersworldwide is seeking to support Asian holders of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds, according to a «Nikkei» report, which were wiped out by Swiss authorities as part of the UBS takeover in March 2023, resulting in an estimated $17 billion loss. Equity shareholders should have theoretically shouldered losses first but they were prioritized over debt holders in the case of the government-brokered deal.
Withers hosted a recent event in Hong Kong to rally bondholders to file an international arbitration case against the Swiss government based on a bilateral investment agreement that includes the protection of investor rights.
Other Countries
In Singapore, It has gathered over 100 bondholders that have made an aggregate claim of about S$200 million ($148 million). Similar arrangements are being made in other Asian jurisdictions such as Japan and South Korea.
In July 2023, Withers said it would also form a global team to support affected investors in Indonesia, where a different legal path will need to be taken as Jakarta does not have a bilateral investment treaty with Switzerland.
RPC, Clyde & Co
In addition, rival London-based law firms RPC and Clyde & Co are also making plans to support investors of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds.
RPC is representing a group of bondholders from Asia using the bilateral treaty between Hong Kong and Switzerland. In March, Clyde & Co announced that it was planning to launch arbitration claims on behalf of investors from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
