Credit Suisse has paid back government-backed liquidity: Swiss minister

CREDIT Suisse has repaid the liquidity backed by the Swiss government, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter has said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF.

The bank so far has not disclosed how much it had borrowed under the so-called public facility backstop (PLB) – part of an emergency lifeline the Swiss authorities extended to the bank in March as it struggled with cash outflows.

A source told Reuters that the bank had borrowed 70 billion Swiss francs under the 100 billion Swiss franc (S$151.80 billion) scheme. Keller-Sutter said the funds drawn from the facility had now been fully repaid.

Credit Suisse said in its first-quarter earnings report in April that it used funds from the Swiss National Bank, including loans supported by default guarantees, without detailing how much of which credit facilities it had used.

It said that the net borrowings from the SNB totalled 108 billion Swiss francs after it had repaid 60 billion francs in the first quarter.

Credit Suisse applied to the Swiss central bank for emergency liquidity assistance in mid-March in order to bridge an impending liquidity shortage, Reuters reported on May 18.

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As part of the state-orchestrated rescue and takeover by rival bank UBS which followed shortly after, it was given access to over 200 billion francs in liquidity support, 100 billion of which was backed by the government.

The bank also reported in April first-quarter outflows of 61 billion Swiss francs. It said that as of Apr 24, the outflows had moderated but not reversed.

Credit Suisse came close to falling below minimum levels of cash held at the SNB days before its forced takeover by UBS, Reuters reported in May. REUTERS