Yet another twist in the international banking crisis. The president of Saudi National Bank Ammar al-Khundairy has resigned. The step back officially came for "personal reasons", but it seems rather difficult not to connect it with what happened recently at Credit Suisse, given that his statements had contributed to the collapse of the shares of the Swiss bank.
The resignation of the president of Saudi National Bank
The resignation of Ammar al-Khundairy, who became president of Saudi National Bank in 2021, was announced on the morning of March 27. The board of directors of the bank “has accepted the resignationi" of the banker who motivated them with "personal reasons".
His successor will be in Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi, while Talal Ahmed Al Khereiji will be promoted to managing director after having been deputy and head of the wholesale market.
The relationship with credit Suisse
In an interview with Bloomberg TV in early March, Al Khundairy stated that Saudi, the largest shareholder of Credit Suisse with a share of 9,9%, would not have been “absolutely” open to further investment in the institution if there had been another demand for additional liquidity. From these words he started the stock market crash of Credit Suisse culminating in the intervention and rescue by Ubs.
On March 10, a Credit Suisse share was worth 2,5 Swiss francs. Today, a stock changes hands at 0,86 francs. Calculator in hand, the value of CS shares held by Saudi National Bank has shrunk to a third in two weeks. The shareholders of the Swiss institution, although they have not gone to zero as happened as the bondholders holding the At1, have suffered a considerable reduction in the value of their investment and in the “card against card” marriage with Ubs they will receive even less.
