Zurich (Reuters) – Standard & Poor’s has lowered Credit Suisse Group AG’s credit rating from BBB+ to BBB. This is a setback for the Swiss bank, which lost money in the first quarter and is facing growing shareholder anger because of a series of scandals.
The outlook has now shifted from negative to stable, according to the rating agency.
Credit Suisse posted a first-quarter deficit last month and initiated a management reform after failing investments incurred billions in damage in 2021.
The bank has been attempting to improve its risk management culture and move on from a series of scandals that have sparked numerous rounds of management reorganizations, sudden exits, and internal and external inquiries.
However, S&P said that a comeback from scandals such as Archegos, Greensill, and others would not be swift.
“Although the group is currently working on corrective measures, we believe that a sustainable shift in the risk culture of such a big, worldwide company would need time,“ the agency added.
In light of the weakening economic and corporate climate, we now believe this task will be considerably more challenging.
S&P said that it thought management’s plans to get the company back to making money were ambitious, especially given the high turnover of management and the uncertain economy.
“In our opinion, the group’s risk-return is expected to stay behind that of its major rivals and other highly rated peers for the foreseeable future,” S&P said.
