Top Credit Suisse shareholder cuts stake

Top Credit Suisse shareholder cuts stake

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – One of Credit Suisses large shareholders, Harris Associates, has reduced its stake in the bank by roughly half to about 5%, according to regulatory filings, as the Swiss bank struggles to regain the confidence of investors.

Harris has been one of Credit Suisses longest standing shareholders and remained loyal despite a string of scandals at the group. It had disclosed a stake of about 10% in the bank last August.

Late last year, Credit Suisse raised 4 billion Swiss francs($4.30 billion) from investors, outlining plans to cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking towards its rich clients.

At the time, Harris had been optimistic, welcoming the banks “aggressive” approach to making improvements.

Harris did not respond to a request for comment. Credit Suisse declined to comment.

The bank‘s efforts to turn around its fortunes followed some difficult months during which the group’s shares were targeted by short sellers.

Credit Suisse said clients pulled funds out around that time at a pace that led the lender to breach some regulatory requirements for liquidity, underscoring the impact of volatility in its shares and social media speculation about its health.

The bank secured the backing of Saudi National Bank, majority-owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, which will invest up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs to take a stake of up to 9.9%.

($1 = 0.9305 Swiss francs)