Credit Suisse – A Century-old Investment Bank That Has A Longstanding Relationship With the CCP Rumored to be Bankrupt

Over the past weekend, rumors regarding bankruptcy of the Credit Suisse Group AG fermented further; as the media, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, continued to disclose relevant information. Founded in 1856, Credit Suisse is the second largest Swiss bank, on par with UBS. The recent dramatic decline of its stock prices and sharp rise in the credit default swaps (CDS) have raised market concerns about its continuous operation.

Credit Suisse has a long history of co-operative relationships with the CCP. It had established bank accounts with the national banks of CCP China in as early as 1955. In 1985, their representative office was set up in Beijing. Since then, they have issued multiple international bonds for the CCP government, and successfully aided in the overseas listing of several CCP State-Owned Enterprises, including Brilliance Automobile and Huaneng Power. The high-quality, confidential, and reliable services they offered made them highly favored by the CCP.

In July of this year, in response to rumors of the CCP’s planned invasion of Taiwan, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, stated that corresponding sanctions against China can be expected from Switzerland if the CCP invades Taiwan. She emphasized that sanctions against China would be far more drastic than that of Russia.

Yet as early as 2021, the executives of Alibaba including Ma Yun and Cai Chongxin were reported to have pledged large assets of unspecified amounts to Credit Suisse. In September 2022, Credit Suisse also reached an agreement with Chinese company Founder Securities to acquire shares held by Founder in Credit Suisse Securities – a joint venture company established by both parties.