Credit Suisse Lodges $440 Mln London Claim against SoftBank

REUTERS

17:25 JST, April 20, 2023

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) – Credit Suisse has lodged a $440 million claim against Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp in London as it presses ahead with formal proceedings in a dispute borne from the failure of Greensill Capital, a finance firm.

The Swiss lender is trying to recover client funds that Greensill had lent to Katerra, a SoftBank-backed U.S. construction group that filed for bankruptcy in 2021. SoftBank has vowed to vigorously fight the claim.

The collapse of Greensill, along with a string of scandals, helped dent confidence in the 167-year-old Swiss bank. When turmoil hit the global banking industry in March, the Swiss government engineered a takeover by its rival UBS to “secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy.”

But Credit Suisse remains determined to salvage outstanding money from the collapse of about $10 billion in client funds linked to financier Lex Greensill’s supply chain finance firm, that imploded two years ago.

It has alleged that SoftBank was aware of a Katerra restructuring in 2020 that effectively placed Credit Suisse’s investor assets out of reach, according to court documents filed in the United States in 2021.

A SoftBank spokesperson accused Credit Suisse of trying to shift blame for its own poor investment decisions and said the case was entirely without merit.

“Credit Suisse continues to prioritize maximizing recovery for investors in the supply chain finance funds,” a spokesperson for the Swiss lender said.

The documents were filed in London’s High Court earlier this month.

Credit Suisse is the biggest name to date to become ensnared in market turbulence unleashed by the collapse of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.