ROME: Credit Suisse is facing a €3 billion- suit in Italy as prosecutors probe the lender in a separate case, a sign litigation risks haven’t abated since a multi-billion settlement last year.
Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena sued Credit Suisse and others over its advice on the acquisition of Banca Antonveneta SpA in 2008, the bank said in its annual report Friday.
The bank restated fourth-quarter earnings in February as litigation provisions for cases including US probes into its sales of residential mortgage-backed securities rose.
The outlook for more charges following the $2.6 billion fine in the US in 2014 prompted concerns among some investors that the bank may not reach its capital targets for this year.
“Some cases do have the potential to cost more than Credit Suisse has currently provisioned for,” said Andreas Venditti, a Zurich-based analyst at Vontobel Holding, who has a hold rating on the bank’s shares. “Not to forget, all the cases related to RMBS. This is an on-going issue.”
Credit Suisse had litigation provisions of 1.02 billion Swiss francs at the end of 2014.
The bank said on Friday that it sees no material exposure to investigations into the rigging of currency and interest-rate benchmarks. Over a dozen firms have reached settlements with authorities around the world on those matters, with total penalties over $10 billion.
Italian authorities are probing allegations of “unauthorised exercise of financial activity” and related offenses, according to the annual report. The bank has previously disclosed that its Milan offices were searched in December and said it was cooperating with the probe, adding it welcomed a cooperation agreement between the Swiss and Italian governments to encourage tax evaders to come forward.
