Credit Suisse faces share-price turbulence, as fear sweeps the market

Shaky share-issuancesSVB can sink banks. The by Silicon Valley Bank () to raise capital proved as much. On March 15th found that shaky shareholders can do lots of damage, too. Saudi National Bank, the firm’s biggest shareholder, appears to be suffering a bad case of buyer’s remorse. Quizzed about any further investment in Credit Suisse, the response from the Saudi bank’s chairman was brutal: “Absolutely not, for many reasons outside the simplest reason, which is regulatory and statutory.”Investors ran for cover. Credit Suisse’s share price plunged by a quarter to its lowest-ever level; other European banks took a knock as well. Reports swirled that financial institutions were examining their exposure to the bank. By the end of the day Swiss regulators had released a statement saying that Credit Suisse met the capital and liquidity requirements applicable to big banks, but that they would offer the bank support if needed. In the early hours of March 16th, Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to SFr50bn ($54bn) from the central bank and buy back debt. This prompted some recovery in its share price.