Nomura, Credit Suisse warn after Archegos share dump

Japanese, Swiss bank say they face big losses from a default

Updated - March 29, 2021 10:32 pm IST - TOKYO/ZURICH

This Oct. 21, 2015 file photo shows the logo of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, in Zurich, Switzerland.

This Oct. 21, 2015 file photo shows the logo of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse, in Zurich, Switzerland.

Nomura and Credit Suisse warned on Monday they were facing big losses after a U.S. hedge fund, named by sources as Archegos Capital Management, defaulted on margin calls, putting investors on edge about who else had been caught out.

Losses at Archegos Capital, run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang, had triggered a fire sale of stocks on Friday, a source familiar with the matter said.

Nomura said it faced a possible $2 billion loss due to transactions with a U.S. client while Credit Suisse said a default on margin calls by a U.S.-based fund could be “highly significant and material” to its first-quarter results.

Credit Suisse said that a fund had “defaulted on margin calls” to it and other banks, meaning they were now in the process of exiting these positions.

Bank stocks slide

Nomura shares slid 16.3%, a record one-day drop, while Credit Suisse was down 14%, its biggest fall in a year.

Deutsche Bank was down 5% while UBS was 3.8% lower. UBS had no immediate comment on its exposure to Archegos.

Deutsche’s Archegos exposure was a fraction of what others have, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that the bank had not incurred any losses and was in the process of managing its position.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.