By Chiara Elisei
(Reuters) – A new bond being sold by Credit Suisse on Thursday met with strong demand from investors, a lead memo seen by Reuters showed, in a positive sign for the embattled Swiss bank.
Orders for a new sterling, senior unsecured bond, maturing in March 2026, were at over 875 million pounds ($1.05 billion), the memo from a lead banker involved in the sale showed.
That was up from 750 million pounds earlier in the day, according to another memo.
Credit Suisse set the spread on the new note at 425 basis points over Britain’s 0.125% 2026 gilt or government bond, from an earlier price indication in the 435 bps area, the first memo said.
The sterling-denominated bond is expected to be priced later on Thursday and follows the sale of two U.S. dollar-denominated Credit Suisse bonds on Wednesday.
Credit Suisse sold a $1.25 billion two-year bond, with a 7.95% coupon and an 8.06% yield, and a $2.5 billion dollar five-year bond with a 7.50% coupon and a 7.551% yield.
The high yields reflect the higher premium investors are demanding to hold Credit Suisse debt as the bank goes through a restructuring.
The bank is striving to move on from scandals and heavy losses that prompted speculation about its future and led to large withdrawals by customers last year.
Credit Suisse has been battered by mishaps, including a $5.5 billion loss on U.S. investment firm Archegos.
($1 = 0.8322 pounds)
(Reporting by Chiara Elisei; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Bernadette Baum)
