In 2021, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) reduced its stake in Credit Suisse Group AG to less than 5%.
Credit Suisse will expand in Qatar through a partnership with the Investment Promotion Agency of the Gulf country.
Around 100 jobs will be created in Qatar over the next few years in its wealth management, investment banking, and asset management divisions, as well as through the establishment of a technology and engineering hub.
“This expansion will further strengthen the bank’s leading wealth management business, deepen the bank’s local footprint and contribute to accelerating Credit Suisse’s development and digitisation in Qatar and the wider region,” IPA Qatar and Credit Suisse said in a joint statement.
Credit Suisse is present in more than 50 countries and has been operating in Qatar since 2006 through the Qatar Financial Centre platform.
Additionally, according to the bank’s website, Qatar Holding is one of its top shareholders, with a stake of slightly more than 5%.
Qatar has been attempting to diversify its economy by promoting its financial sector, which it claims is now second in importance only to the hydrocarbon industry.
In July, Swiss Ambassador to Qatar Edgar Doerig told local outlet The Peninsula that both nations are currently in the process of raising the number of Swiss banks operating in the Gulf state.
Switzerland’s two biggest banks Credit Suisse Group and UBS Group also had hired more individuals to assist in their effort to expand to Qatar.
Doerig said both nations are “doing fine” in terms of trade relations. He predicted that between 4,000 and 5,000 Swiss tourists will visit the nation as a result of the World Cup. “Traditionally, tourism has been very strong from Qatar to Switzerland, and it will continue to be very strong from Switzerland to Qatar.”
The move comes as Credit Suisse considers cutting 5,000 jobs, or roughly one out of every ten, as part of a cost-cutting drive at Switzerland’s second-largest bank, Reuters reported last week.
Swiss defence systems for the World Cup
Swiss arms exports have increased by more than 40% to $524 million in the first half of this year, after $162 million in sales of air defence systems were finalised with Qatar, according to the Swiss economy ministry.
Following Qatar, the top five purchasers of Swiss arms were Botswana, Germany, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. Armoured vehicles were purchased by Botswana and Denmark, as well as Germany’s ammunition and accessories.
The systems will be utilised for the protection of stadiums during the World Cup this November, which will see numerous nations from around the world take part in security planning.
QIA’s reduction of Credit Suisse stakes
In 2021, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) reduced its stake in Credit Suisse Group AG to less than 5%.
A string of recent scandals has rocked Credit Suisse, making it Europe’s worst-performing major bank stock.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2021, QIA now owns approximately 128 million shares, representing a 4.8% stake. According to Bloomberg data, this was QIA’s first cut since 2010.
The authority previously owned approximately $133 million shares, making it the Swiss bank’s largest and longest-term shareholder.
QIA is one of the world’s largest sovereign funds, with assets valued at more than $360 billion according to data platform Global SWF.
Credit Suisse has been hit by a series of scandals, including the failures of asset management firm Archegos Capital Management and financial services firm Greensill Capital, which resulted in billions of dollars in losses and further damage to the company’s reputation.
Greensill’s supply-chain finance empire collapsed in 2021. The financial services company was a key partner for Credit Suisse’s asset management business.
