The logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen at branch offices in Basel March 2, 2020. — Reuters picZURICH, March 29 — Top global banks Nomura of Japan and Switzerland’s Credit Suisse warned today they could face significant losses following reports of their exposure to a US fund that sold billions in stocks last week.
Among the companies sold were top Chinese names such as Baidu Inc, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Vipshop Holding — all under pressure at home as Beijing reins in the tech sector — plus US giants such as ViacomCBS and Discovery. With the global financial system awash in cash as central banks and governments try to keep their economies afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, there have been growing concerns that the money has helped fuel speculative bubbles.
“It is essential to realize this is not a move inspired by economic fundamentals; instead, it is an isolated case of poor risk management and will ultimately have few if any lasting macroeconomic implications,” Innes said.Nomura notably referred to an “event” on Friday which could cause a “significant loss” at one of its US units, putting the price tag at around US$2 billion.
Nomura said it would make a further disclosure once the impact of the potential loss was determined, but added it would not face any operational issues as a result of the loss.Already hit by the collapse of British short-term corporate loan specialist Greensill earlier this year, Credit Suisse warned its losses could be “highly significant,” without giving a specific figure.