£55bn withdrawn from Credit Suisse before rescue
Credit Suisse has announced that 61.2bn Swiss francs (£55.2bn) left the bank in the first quarter of 2023, revealing the scale of the bank run that prompted its state-backed rescue in March. The bank’s wealth management division saw the assets it managed fall to 502.5bn francs, 29% lower than the same period last year.
“These outflows have moderated but have not yet reversed as of April 24, 2023,” Credit Suisse said in a statement.
Credit Suisse clients started pulling money out of the bank after it was caught up in the market turmoil that followed the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US in March. The bank was forced to accept a rescue package from the Swiss authorities, which included financial guarantees worth over 200bn francs and a takeover by UBS.
The bank had been loss-making and faced numerous difficulties, including money laundering charges. The bank’s forced sale to UBS is expected to be completed soon.