C Suisse gave Qatar loan during crisis

Credit Suisse granted a regulator-approved interim loan to Qatar at the height of the financial crisis, in a sharp contrast to allegations over an undisclosed loan provided by UK bank Barclays to the same investor.

The Swiss bank gave the loan for its SFr10bn capital raising in October 2008, the same month as Barclays’ second cash call, highlighting different approaches the banks appear to have had to such arrangements at the time.

Credit Suisse’s financing arrangement was disclosed and approved by Swiss regulators, two people close to the situation said.

The Financial Times on Thursday revealed that the UK’s Financial Services Authority and the Serious Fraud Office are investigating whether Barclays gave a loan to Qatar to fund its cash call in 2008 that enabled it to avoid a state bailout.

In Credit Suisse’s case, the loan to pay for a significant amount of the private placement was used to bring forward the capital increase by a few weeks so that it could be announced at the same time as rival UBS’s state bailout.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e5b472f2-6c87-11e2-b73a-00144feab49a.html#axzz2JlpNcrtd