In Singapore, representatives of aggrieved Credit Suisse investors are consolidating their efforts. Omni Bridgeway, a global litigation financier, has joined the fray.
Anyone looking to litigate for money often needs to have money first. This applies to the Singapore law firm Drew & Napier, which represents more than 300 investors in Asia in their lawsuit against the Swiss Confederation in connection with Credit Suisse's Additional Tier-1 (AT1) bonds.
According to a report by «Asian Legal Business,» the firm can now count on the support of Omni Bridgeaway, a globally operating litigation financier listed on the Australian stock exchange.
Financial Firepower
Omni Bridgeway not only provides the necessary financial firepower but also brings along a group of CS investors. While the dispute value represented by Drew & Napier so far amounts to $200 million, an additional $60 to $70 million are now being added.
According to the report, the Singaporeans previously worked with the Zurich law firm Nater Dallafior to support CS investors. Additionally, Drew & Napier is currently gathering aggrieved parties from Japan.
Foreign Venues – and St. Gallen
The AT1 bonds of CS, often referred to as Contingent Convertibles (CoCo), were declared worthless by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) in the wake of the UBS takeover in March 2023, which was supported by the federal government, the Swiss National Bank, and Finma. In total, CS had CoCo bonds with a nominal value of approximately 16 billion francs on the market.
The Swiss Confederation must fight on various fronts to demonstrate in court why the write-off of the AT1 bonds and thus the infringement on the bondholders' ownership rights were lawful.
Largest Claimant Groups
Foreign venues include Singapore, Hong Kong, and Texas, with more locations likely to follow soon. Domestically, attention is focused on the ongoing litigation before the Federal Administrative Court in St. Gallen, where the largest claimant groups are also appearing.
