Shares of Credit Suisse on Wednesday plunged to a fresh all-time low for the second consecutive day after a top investor in the embattled Swiss bank said it would not be able to provide any more cash due to regulatory restrictions.
Trading in the bank’s plummeting stock was halted several times throughout the morning as it fell below 2 Swiss francs ($2.17) for the first time.
Swiss-listed Credit Suisse shares ended the session down 24%, paring some of its earlier losses after dropping more than 30% at one point. The U.S.-traded American depositary receipts of Credit Suisse fell 20%.
After European markets closed, Swiss regulators said that Credit Suisse currently meets capital and liquidity requirements and that the Swiss National Bank will provide additional liquidity if necessary.
The share price rout renewed a broader sell-off among European lenders, which were already facing significant market turmoil as a result of the Silicon Valley Bank fallout. Some of the biggest decliners included France’s Societe Generale, Spain’s Banco de Sabadell and Germany’s Commerzbank.
Several Italian banks on Wednesday were also subject to automatic trading stoppages, including UniCredit, FinecoBank and Monte dei Paschi.
Credit Suisse’s largest investor, Saudi National Bank, said it could not provide the Swiss bank with any further financial assistance, according to a Reuters report, sparking the latest leg lower.
“We cannot because we would go above 10%. It’s a regulatory issue,” Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy told Reuters on Wednesday. However, he added that SNB is happy with Credit Suisse’s transformation plan and suggested the bank was unlikely to need extra money.
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