Credit Suisse shares down 20%

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) – Shares of Credit Suisse fell nearly 20% to a new record low on Wednesday after the Swiss lender’s biggest investor said it could get no more help.

“We cannot, otherwise we would have to exceed the share (in the bank) above the current 10%. It’s a regulatory issue,” Saudi Arabia’s National Bank governor Ammar Al Khudayri said on Wednesday.

The Saudi bank bought almost a 10 percent stake in Credit Suisse last year after it participated in a capital increase and pledged to invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.5 billion).

Switzerland’s second-largest bank has been at the center of a series of scandals that have undermined investor and customer confidence. Customer cash outflow in the fourth quarter rose to over 110 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion).

Credit Suisse shares fell 19.98% at 1:48 p.m. Moscow time.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse’s five-year credit default swaps – reflecting default bets – hit a new high of 574 basis points.

($1 = CHF0.9173)

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