Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy has resigned from his post following the banking crisis that has hit Credit Suisse Group AG. This move comes shortly after refusing to provide further assistance to Credit Suisse, despite the bank being the largest shareholder.
Al Khudairy’s resignation is reportedly for personal reasons, and will be replaced by CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi.
On March 15, Al Khudairy stated that the Saudi National Bank (SNB) would not expand its stake beyond nearly 10%, citing regulatory issues. He also expressed positive comments about the restructuring of Credit Suisse and that it would not require a further injection of capital.
However, his comments sent Credit Suisse shares tumbling as financial markets feared a broader banking crisis following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.
SNB investment in Credit Suisse plunges 80%
The Riyadh-based bank suffered significant losses in UBS’s recent acquisition of Credit Suisse in a $3.2 billion deal. As the main shareholder, the Saudi National Bank witnessed a loss of around 80% on its investment.
The Saudi National Bank invested around $1.5 billion (1.4 billion Swiss francs) in almost 10% of Credit Suisse’s shares, acquiring the stake at 3.82 francs per share in November 2022. However, the price of the shares Credit Suisse shares plunged to 0.76 francs.
While the collapse of two US-based cryptocurrency-friendly banks initially hurt the digital asset industry, the cryptocurrency market has since rallied and recaptured the $1.2 trillion level.
The world’s largest crypto, Bitcoin, has seen a surge in price, reaching the long-awaited $28,000 level. In the last 30 days, BTC has risen around 20% and is currently trading at an average price of $27,808, according to data by CoinMarketCap.
