Saudi National Bank chair resigns following Credit Suisse crisis, major losses

Saudi National Bank’s 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 declining to provide further assistance to Credit Suisse, despite the bank being the largest shareholder.

Al Khudairy’s resignation is reportedly due to personal reasons, and he 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 on the restructuring of Credit Suisse and that it would not require further capital infusion.

However, his remarks sent Credit Suisse shares plunging as financial markets feared a wider banking crisis following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.

SNB’s investment in Credit Suisse plummets by 80%

The Riyadh-based bank suffered significant losses in the recent UBS takeover of Credit Suisse in a $3.2 billion deal. As the largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank witnessed a loss of around 80% in its investment.

Saudi National Bank invested around $1.5 billion (1.4 billion Swiss francs) for nearly 10% of Credit Suisse’s shares, acquiring the stake at 3.82 francs per share in November 2022. However, Credit Suisse’s share price plummeted to 0.76 francs.

While the collapse of two U.S.-based crypto-friendly banks initially impacted the digital asset industry, the crypto market has since recovered and regained the $1.2 trillion level.

The world’s largest crypto, Bitcoin, has seen a surge in price, reaching the much-anticipated $28,000 level. Over the past 30 days, BTC has increased by around 20% and is currently trading at an average price of $27,808, as per data by CoinMarketCap.