At least four major banks, including Societe Generale and Deutsche Bank, have placed restrictions on transactions involving Credit Suisse or assets linked to the Swiss bank, Reuters learned from five sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Credit Suisse did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The bank, beaten on the stock market after a series of scandals, financial losses and challenges from investors, had already declared itself robust enough and global in size when it benefited this week from a loan of 50,000 million Swiss francs (50,700 million euros) from its central bank, the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
Battered on the stock market
“We meet and even exceed all regulatory requirements. Our capital and liquidity are very strong,” Credit Suisse Chief Executive Ulrich Körner told reporters earlier this week, a spokesman for the group told Reuters.
This is the first time that such distrust of banks towards Credit Suisse has been made public. The five sources requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.
Societe Generale, which has reduced its counterparty positions with Credit Suisse in recent weeks, has no plans to increase them, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
Requested, Société Générale declined to comment. Deutsche Bank, for its part, wrote down the value of some assets linked to Credit Suisse this week, according to an official at a European wealth management firm with business ties to the German bank.
Société Générale has reduced its counterparty positions in recent weeks
Deutsche Bank also declined to comment.
The private banking arm of HSBC Holdings has also begun looking closely at its claims related to Credit Suisse securities held by clients in Europe and Asia, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The source added that the bank has not yet made a decision on reducing its exposure to the Swiss bank, but is closely monitoring developments and will make a decision early next week.
HSBC had no immediate comment.
Another big bank source, in direct contact with Credit Suisse in Asia, said his store had decided to ask the Swiss bank to close a trade immediately, which could have been recovered later.
According to a source, a major bank has also reduced its exposure to Credit Suisse, especially in unsecured loans.
Source: BFM TV
