Credit Suisse bondholders hire “world’s most feared” law firm to represent them in potential litigation
Owners of a significant percentage of bonds AT1 of Credit Suisse, whose value was reduced to zero following that bank’s purchase by UBS on March 19, have hired the law firm Quinn Emanuel, chosen several times as “the most feared in the world,” to represent them in the face of potential litigation.confirmed the firm on Monday.
In a statement, the Los Angeles (United States)-based law firm announced that a multidisciplinary team of its employees in the UK, US and Switzerland “has been instructed by key bondholders to represent them in discussions with the Swiss authorities and in the face of possible litigation to recover losses following the merger announcement.”
Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds totaled CHF 16 billion (EUR 16.07 billion) which were written down to zero after the bank’s purchase by UBSThe decision, an unprecedented one by the Swiss financial authorities, has, according to analysts, damaged investor confidence in the European market for this type of debt.
“There is still time for the various players to recognize and correct the mistakes made in the hasty merger,” the law firm’s head of management, Thomas Werlen, emphasized in the statement. “We are prepared to carry out the necessary procedures.although constructive collaboration with the relevant parties could save years of litigation,” he added.
Quinn Emanuel did not detail the bondholders he will represent but did assure that among them are “large institutions that invested well before the merger was announced.“. The firm boasts the world’s largest full-service litigation and arbitration practice, with more than 1,000 lawyers in 32 offices around the world.
The “most feared” firm
Named three times the “most feared” firm in the annual rankings conducted by BTI Consulting Group, the firm. claims to have won 86% of the cases its lawyers have taken to trial.achieving some $80 billion in favorable judgments and amicable settlements. “We look forward to achieving compensation for our clients, given our extensive experience in situations of this type,” one of the firm’s London-based managers, Richard East, added in the statement.
The announcement comes a day before Credit Suisse holds its annual general meeting of shareholders, in principle the last after 167 years of existence, in which the crisis that resulted in the purchase of the bank by UBS will preside over what are expected to be tense discussions.. The purchase was supported with emergency guarantees in the form of liquidity of about 250 billion francs (€251 billion), equivalent to about one-third of Swiss GDP, although weekly data on demand deposits at the central bank suggest that all of that aid may not have been used.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB, central) reported today that the country’s overnight deposits (banks’ money held as collateral by the central bank) have fallen in one week only slightly, from CHF 567.003 billion to CHF 563.566 billionafter a sharp rise in the previous week.
