Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE:CS) saw £55bln in outflows in the first three months of 2023, a bank run that prompted its forced sale to Swiss rival UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS).
The Swiss bank revealed the outflow in its latest quarterly earnings, one of the last for the 167-year-old bank.
Credit Swiss's wealth division was one of the worst hit areas, with assets dropping to Sfr500bln in the first quarter of 2023 down from Sfr707bln a year earlier.
“However, Credit Suisse had already been struggling for a long time in the build-up to the arranged married with UBS,” Victoria Scholar at Interactive Investor said.
The group had faced a series of scandals over the years from lax money laundering controls to spying on senior executives.
“The bank had reported a 7.3bln SFr loss in 2022, the worst since the global financial crisis while liquidity concerns prompted significant outflows around October last year,” Scholar added.
With the imminent acquisition around the corner, the focus has shifted to where changes in the two banks will occur, with Sergio Ermotti’s appointment as group chief executive officer the most prominent so far.
However, it isn’t just a C-suite or top-level shakeup.
According to Swiss news reports, 20%-30% of Credit Suisse workers are expected to be sacked once the merger is completed.
“Focus now shifts to earnings from UBS on Tuesday with comments on Credit Suisse likely to take centre stage,” Scholar concluded.
Over in the US on Monday, a survivor of the regional bank collapse, First Republic, will be providing results with likely a similar focus on outflows.
The bank was bailed out by eleven of America’s largest banks last month in a US$30bln rescue package.