The chairman of the bank had said almost a fortnight ago that SNB would "absolutely not" be open to further investments in Credit Suisse if there weas a call for more liquidity. Days later, Credit Suisse was bought by its largest rival, and with guarantees from the Swiss state.

The chairman of Credit Suisse’s largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, has resigned days after his comments helped prompt a slide in the Swiss bank’s stock, leading to the eventual takeover by UBS a week ago.

Ammar Al Khudairy, who became chairman of SNB in 2021, left due to “personal reasons” according to a statement from the organisation, media reports said. This publication attempted to visit the bank’s website, but it was unresponsive at the time of going to press.

Just under a week ago, Al Khudairy said in an interview that Saudi National Bank would “absolutely not” be open to further investments in Credit Suisse if there was another call for additional liquidity. Credit Suisse’s stock crashed, and the cost of insuring its debt against default rose sharply. 

UBS is offering to pay SFr3 billion to buy Credit Suisse in an all-share deal, including government guarantees. Holders of Additional Tier 1 bonds, a form of high-risk debt issued by Credit Suisse, have seen these bonds wiped out. 

The episode may raise questions among banks, sovereign wealth funds and other entities about the risks of buying into Western countries’ banks in times of stress.