One of Credit Suisse Group AG’s biggest and longest-term shareholders, the Qatar Investment Authority, trimmed its stake in the bank, a blow to the beleaguered Swiss lender.
QIA, a sovereign-wealth fund of the gas-rich Gulf state, cut its stake to 4.8% from 5.2% on Wednesday, according to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Credit Suisse is under pressure to revamp following twin scandals from the failures of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital.
QIA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A Credit Suisse spokesman declined to comment.
The Qatar fund first took a large stake in Credit Suisse in 2008 and helped shore up its capital as the financial crisis hit. It reported a stake of just under 10% in Credit Suisse shares and derivatives that year and reduced the stake since then.
Credit Suisse lost around $5.5 billion this spring from exiting large, concentrated stock positions of Archegos Capital, a New York-based family office that came undone when some of the stocks fell and it couldn’t meet margin calls. Other banks including Morgan Stanley and UBS Group AG also lost money.