Bloomberg - Singapore law firm to sue Switzerland over Asia losses on AT1s

radish

Emeritus Honorary Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2005
Messages
229,807
Reaction score
24,651
wow....

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore...rland-over-asia-losses-on-at1s-023921473.html

One of Singapore’s biggest law firms is set to file claims against the Swiss government by the end of the year, seeking compensation for hundreds of Asian bondholders of Credit Suisse AT1 debt that was wiped out in 2023.

Drew & Napier plans to go ahead with so-called investment treaty claims for Japanese bondholders first, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore investors, according to a director at the firm that’s representing about 560 bondholders from the three jurisdictions.

A court decision in Switzerland that the writedown of the Credit Suisse AT1 bonds was unlawful is the “first step in righting the wrong done to our clients,” said Mahesh Rai, who’s working on the case that’ll seek to recover losses that had amounted to about US$300 million from the Swiss government.

Switzerland’s finance ministry declined to comment, in response to a query from Bloomberg News.

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court this month sided with complainants who had argued that a March 2023 decree to write down 16.5 billion Swiss francs (US$20.8 billion) of the AT1 bonds – under a government-brokered rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS Group AG – was unlawful and should be revoked.

Still, investors’ hopes will be tempered by how long the legal process will take, and whether any payout is ultimately likely. The complete writedown of the AT1 bonds had caused a furor, given that typically shareholders absorb losses before bondholders.

Under bilateral investment treaties, Drew & Napier had to send trigger letters to the Swiss government, which it did in December 2024 and May this year. The firm is now starting the claim, since the treaties require the parties to negotiate for a six-month period after the issuance of the letters.

Their action is based on treaties that Switzerland has with Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong for decades. These treaties offer protections to individuals and companies carrying out investments, including safeguards against the expropriation of their investments and unfair treatment by the governments.

Rai said the firm is “positive about the prospect of success” and is still signing on affected bondholders. Litigation-funding firm Omni Bridgeway Ltd has agreed to pay the investors’ legal fees.
 

eggie011

Arch-Supremacy Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2020
Messages
23,412
Reaction score
9,436
So if any compensation is forthcoming, Swiss govt have to fork out? Definitely won't be full amount. Other countries not doing anything?

Remember a fellow EDMW was affected. Hope can get something back.
 

uselessbum

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Messages
26,258
Reaction score
8,144
The Swiss Federal Administrative Court this month sided with complainants who had argued that a March 2023 decree to write down 16.5 billion Swiss francs (US$20.8 billion) of the AT1 bonds – under a government-brokered rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS Group AG – was unlawful and should be revoked.

Too late to rescind it. The condition for UBS taking over was that the value of the bonds be written down. If that is rescinded, it would mean that the takeover would have to be nullified as well and at this point, it's next to impossible to untangle the two merged giants. In a way, what the swiss govt did is a form of fait accompli.

Best the bondholders can do is ask the swiss govt to compensate them for the original value of their bonds at that time. Though I think the swiss govt will later on come up with retroactive laws to avoid liability for it.

:(
 
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top