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Credit Suisse calamity could see Gulf investors shift priorities, avoid banking deals

Credit Suisse’s March meltdown continues to reverberate across the Gulf. Here's how it could impact regional investments going forward.

This photograph taken on March 24, 2023 in Geneva, shows a sign of Credit Suisse bank. - The marriage of UBS and Credit Suisse was hastily arranged to prevent a global financial meltdown -- but the size of the resulting megabank could cause domestic problems in Switzerland, the central bank admitted on March 23, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
To:

Al-Monitor Pro Members

From:

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor

Date:

Apr. 3, 2023

Bottom Line:

Billions lost, a Saudi lender moving global markets and a key resignation: Credit Suisse’s March 2023 meltdown continues to reverberate across the Gulf. At the center is Saudi National Bank, or SNB, which is now nursing a $1 billion loss from a 2022 investment into the troubled Swiss bank. The deal was reportedly pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and was supposed to mark the kingdom’s big debut into the global banking sector — plans that are now in disarray. SNB’s chairman has now stepped down and the fallout could spread further to impact a wider Gulf investment spree powered by a fresh pile of petrodollars.

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