Credit Suisse may take legal action against SoftBank over Greensill debt

San Francisco

CREDIT Suisse is seeking information through the US courts which could lead to it taking legal action in Britain against SoftBank Group to recover funds it says are owed to its Greensill-linked supply chain finance funds, US court documents show.

Switzerland's second-largest bank has been working to recover funds from the collapse of some US$10 billion in funds linked to insolvent supply chain finance firm Greensill.

Credit Suisse declined comment, while SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swiss bank has been focusing on some US$2.3 billion in loans provided by Greensill, which imploded in March, to three counterparties including SoftBank-backed Katerra, for which late payments have accrued.

Katerra filed for bankruptcy in June, and had estimated liabilities of US$1 billion to US$10 billion and assets of US$500 million to US$1 billion, according to court filings at the time.

In a petition filed on Thursday (Dec 23) with a US federal court in San Francisco, Credit Suisse is seeking information it said would support a lawsuit it plans to file against SoftBank and other affiliates in Britain over US$440 million it says are owed by Katerra.

Credit Suisse on Thursday filed a section 1782 Discovery, aiming to obtain documents and communications exchanged between SoftBank and Katerra. This statute allows foreign parties to apply to US courts to obtain evidence for use in proceedings.

The Swiss bank is seeking to establish what SoftBank executives, including chair and chief executive Masayoshi Son, knew about Katerra's restructuring plans by subpoenaing documents through the US courts.

The Financial Times first reported the move on Friday. REUTERS