Harris Associates, one of the major shareholders of Credit Suisse, has cut its stake in the beleaguered bank by around half by divesting some of its shares.
The move comes in the midst of the Swiss bank’s effort to gain new investors to increase capital, reported Bloomberg.
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It saw the reduction of the American fund manager’s stake in Credit Suisse from 10% and to nearly 5%, according to a regulatory filing.
Harris chief investment officer of international equities David Herro stated that it did not take part in Credit Suisse’s CHF4bn ($4.30bn) capital raise organised late last year. This dropped the company’s total stake in the bank due to the dilution of existing shareholders and selling of stock.
In an email sent to the agency, Herro said: “Net new capital was added which automatically shrinks our holding.”
He added: “Additionally, with withdrawals, year-end distributions etc, we had to raise liquidity.”
Harris, which has been holding Credit Suisse stock since the earlier parts of 2000, chose to increase its stake after the 2008 financial emergency.
As part of its capital raise plan, Credit Suisse proposed to undertake layoffs and a spinout of majority of its investment banking business.
The move facilitated the issue of 1.35 billion new shares of Credit Suisse, which sold some of the shares directly to new investors and diluted current shareholders who took part in the succeeding rights offering.
