Credit Suisse shares soar after central bank offers lifeline

By JAMEY KEATEN and DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse shares have surged after the Swiss central bank agreed to loan the bank up to $54 billion to bolster confidence in the country’s second-biggest lender and blunt concerns about the international financial system following the collapse of two U.S. banks. Credit Suisse announced the agreement before the Swiss stock market opened Thursday, a day after news that its biggest shareholder would not inject more money into the bank sent its shares tumbling 30%. The shares rose 25% to 2.13 francs in midday trading after gaining as much as 33% earlier. The Swiss National Bank said Wednesday that it was prepared to back Credit Suisse because it meets the higher capital and liquidity requirements imposed on “systemically important banks.”