Credit Suisse shares look set to continue sell-off

ZURICH   – Credit Suisse shares looked set to continue their slide on Friday after the bank’s reported its latest heavy losses on Thursday and the Swiss regulator said it was watching the situation ‘very closely.”

The bank’s shares were indicated 1.1 percent lower in premarket activity on the Swiss Market Index on Friday.

Credit Suisse’s stock fell 14.7 percent on Thursday to 2.77 francs, valuing the lender at 11.1 billion Swiss francs after results which were described by one shareholder as “catastrophic”.

Switzerland’s second biggest bank also warned on Thursday that a further “substantial” loss was to be expected this year, as clients pulled out billions from the bank which has been engulfed by a series of scandals and blunders.

In a statement on Thursday, Swiss regulator Finma said that while Credit Suisse’s liquidity buffers had a stabilising effect on the bank and are being rebuilt, the regulator “monitors banks very closely during such situations”.

A string of banks downgraded their outlook for Credit Suisse’s shares on Friday. Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and RBS all cut their target prices, contributing to the negative sentiment around Credit Suisse.