Timely & Relevant News: Update On The Credit Suisse Situation

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Just as the market was starting to make some progress digesting the news of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure, new headlines popped up about Credit Suisse (CS). We previously acknowledged in our SVB Failure - What, Why and How Communication that indeed more banks may come under distress (72 FDIC-insured banks have failed over the last 10 years).

Here’s what we know about this situation right now, what it could mean and some investment ideas that investors may want to consider in light of this week’s volatility.

What Happened?

Credit Suisse shares were down more than 30% at one point on Wednesday to record lows before rallying back to end the session down 14% (excluding the after-hours rally—more on that below). Markets were already jittery after the SVB news over the weekend (and the failure of Signature Bank of New York), and Credit Suisse’s struggles have been widely known for some time (new management is in the midst of a turnaround plan), so perhaps the weakness wasn’t surprising.

The selloff was sparked by the news that Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank, would not consider raising its stake in CS because of regulatory concerns regarding exceeding the 10% ownership threshold. Without that potential source of capital, markets worried about the solvency of Credit Suisse.

Swiss Central Bank And Financial Regulator To The Rescue


By late afternoon Wednesday, at least some of those worries look to have been put to rest. Even though the market reflected nervousness about CS’s ability to meet its obligations, reflected in a blowout in credit default swap (CDS) pricing, the bank is simply too big to fail. Bailouts are more politically palatable in Europe, making this development almost a foregone conclusion. That message was delivered straight from the safety nets themselves, the Swiss central bank (the SNB) and the local banking regulator (FINMA), who issued a joint statement:

Credit Suisse meets the capital and liquidity requirements imposed on systemically important banks. If necessary, the SNB will provide Credit Suisse with liquidity.

Credit Suisse did not hesitate to leverage the facility, exercising its option to borrow up to CHF 50 billion from the SNB late Wednesday night, collateralized by CS assets. European stock futures rose on the release of the statement.

Gauging Contagion Risk

Even though we believe market participants overwhelmingly expected CS to be backstopped by the SNB, the news sparked a nearly 10% rally in the shares in the aftermarket (as of 6:20 p.m. ET Wednesday). This assurance that CS would not be allowed to fail will no doubt help assuage fears of broader contagion.

That doesn’t mean midsized or smaller banks won’t have to pay up for deposits or incur additional marketing and regulatory costs as a result of this banking scare. While the solvency stage of the crisis may be over soon, profits may be constrained for a quarter or two, if not more, until this blows over. Even contained banking crises can have ripple effects for a while. Confidence takes time to be restored. One consequence may be more limited credit availability, which could have a negative impact on economic growth in the near term.

What’s Next?

Now that deposits are effectively guaranteed at Credit Suisse and debt holders are unlikely to experience any haircut in a possible (but very unlikely) bankruptcy, we can take the next steps to move beyond this crisis. One step is seeing buyers come in to take assets from the failed lenders in the U.S. and inject capital into CS. The company is spinning off its U.S. investment banking business and rebranding it as First Boston, previously its entrée into the U.S. market via acquisition in the mid-1990s. We would also like to see deposits stabilize, the Federal Reserve either pausing or signaling a pause, and some smarter bank regulations in terms of interest rate risk at midsized banks.

Our team is closely paying attention to new developments pertaining to this matter, including a variety of signals and indicators to make wise and appropriate investment decisions.

If you have specific questions or would like to discuss your own investment strategy or financial planning needs, we welcome you to call us at 302.234.5655 or email us at contactus@covenantwealthstrategies.com to set up time to discuss further.

Disclosures:

This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. There is no assurance that the views or strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. Investing involves risks including possible loss of principal. Any economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and are subject to change.

References to markets, asset classes, and sectors are generally regarding the corresponding market index. Indexes are unmanaged statistical composites and cannot be invested into directly. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment and do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results.

Any company names noted herein are for educational purposes only and not an indication of trading intent or a solicitation of their products or services. LPL Financial doesn’t provide research on individual equities. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.

All index and market data from Bloomberg.

This Research material was prepared by LPL Financial, LLC.