HFW Invites Asia's CS AT1 Bondholders for Class Action
Global law firm Holman Fenwick Willan is inviting Asian holders of Credit Suisse’s erased AT1 bonds to join a class action against Switzerland.
Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) is inviting Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bondholders in Asia to join its pending class action against Switzerland, according to a statement. This is related to the write-down of 16 billion Swiss francs ($20 billion) in AT1 bonds during a government-brokered takeover by UBS in 2023.
AT1 bondholders from Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Oman, the Philippines, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are eligible to join the class action. The total value of the AT1 bonds across all relevant jurisdictions is over $5 billion. The arbitration will be heard at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), headquartered in Washington, DC.
«There are documentary evidence and banking sector expert opinions supporting the position that the criteria to trigger the power to exercise the write down provisions was not satisfied,» HFW said.
Three-Year Expiry
Due to a three-year statute of limitations on actions against the Swiss state, claims for the AT1 write-down must be filed by April 2026. HFW anticipates that proceedings will last three to five years.
«As the write down happened in April 2023, we are a few months away from April 2026 which is when we can expect Switzerland to argue that any claims that are not formally launched would have expired by then, even though we would argue that is inapplicable under international law,» said HFW partner Shaun Leong.
Singapore Investors
Thus far, HFW has already gathered «a substantial group of some of the largest Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders in Singapore» with a total claim, including interest and coupon rates, of over $80 million.
«HFW stands ready to help CS AT1 bondholders secure their arbitral claims in time prior to any such time bar claims,» Leong added.
