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Credit Suisse Group AG shares fell sharply in early Friday trading after a media report said that the Swiss bank is considering another capital raise as it looks to move on from recent scandals and financial losses.
At 0815 GMT, shares
CSGN,
CS,
traded down 7.1% to CHF4.31.
A Thursday report from Reuters, citing unnamed sources, said the bank had begun discussions with investors in recent weeks and that among the options discussed is the possibility of exiting the U.S. market. A spokeswoman for the bank denied the suggestion to Dow Jones Newswires.
“Credit Suisse is not exiting the U.S. market. Any reporting that suggests otherwise is categorically false and completely unfounded,” she said.
Credit Suisse said it will provide an update on its strategy review, including whether it does a capital raise, when it announces its third-quarter earnings late next month.
“It would be premature to comment on any potential outcomes before then,” the spokeswoman said.
The Reuters report is the latest in a round of speculation about the Swiss bank. It follows a report earlier Thursday from the Financial Times, also citing unnamed sources, saying that the lender is planning to restructure its investment-banking business into three units.
A capital increase would be the latest of several in recent years for the Swiss bank as it looks to strengthen its finances. In July this year, Credit Suisse named a new chief executive after posting a loss of around $1.65 billion for the second quarter, a much worse result than had been expected amid plunging revenue at its investment bank.
A sale of certain businesses had already been flagged, Citi analysts said in a research note after the reports.
“This would seem to suggest that other product areas, including leveraged finance and credit, may potentially also come under review, which would fit with a larger exit from the U.S.,” they said.
Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com
