Top Swiss court rejects claim by two former Credit Suisse shareholders

ZURICH (Reuters) -Switzerland's Supreme Court on Friday ruled against a compensation claim by two former shareholders of Credit Suisse who bought stock in the bank shortly before it failed in March 2023, saddling them with hefty losses.

The two plaintiffs, a couple, bought shares in the bank just days before Credit Suisse collapsed, the court said. The bank was then acquired by longstanding rival UBS for a fraction of its former value in an operation engineered by the state.

The shareholders argued they would not have bought the shares if the government had not made positive statements about Credit Suisse's financial situation in the weeks leading up to its collapse, the court said in a statement.

The couple later filed a claim against the government for 54,600 Swiss francs ($66,000), the court added. After deliberation, the court rejected the claim.

The case is one of hundreds of compensation claims that have been filed by investors over the demise of Credit Suisse since its takeover by UBS for 3 billion francs.

Last week, another Swiss court ruled the government's reductions and cancellations of bonus payments to former Credit Suisse executives after the bank failed were unlawful. The government said on Friday it would appeal the ruling.

($1 = 0.8259 Swiss francs)

(Writing by Dave Graham, Editing by Friederike Heine)