Credit Suisse Group AG’s junior bond holders are not happy. The UBS Group AG takeover, orchestrated by the Swiss government without the blessings of shareholders on both sides, will trigger a complete write-down of their $17.3 billion worth of Additional Tier 1 notes. Some are considering legal action.
Losses of this magnitude are unsettling to markets already shaken by the latest banking crisis. As such, it is of public interest to ask who are the owners of these risky bonds, introduced after the global financial crisis?
It is a puzzle that needs to be resolved.
Big money managers such as