Item number: A174

Year: ND

Material: Gold

Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2024

This item is a 100-gram gold bar from Credit Suisse Group, with the obverse side featuring the company name, weight, purity, bar number. Below, within a rectangular frame, there is also the French inscription “Essayeur Fondeur,” serving as a quality assurance mark for Swiss manufacturing. On the reverse side, multiple Credit Suisse brand logos are imprinted.

The Credit Suisse Group was founded in AD 1856 by Alfred Escher, inspired by the contemporary French banking investments in railways. Its primary business involved providing funding to railway projects through loans from the Swiss government. By AD 1882, with the completion of the railway network within Switzerland and connecting to neighboring countries, Escher’s investment in the Swiss Northeastern Railway became a significant source of income for the company. Additionally, in AD 1871, Credit Suisse Group also assisted in establishing Switzerland’s monetary system, solidifying its position as one of the most prominent banks in Switzerland.

As the company further developed, its business expanded to over fifty countries worldwide. In addition to offering a range of private banking services, investments, and asset management, Credit Suisse Group also became a “Bulge Bracket” investment bank serving governments, large corporations, and institutions globally. However, entering the 21st century, Credit Suisse Group faced internal controversies, leadership changes, and financial losses. Adding to the challenges, a series of espionage scandals, client poaching, and significant financial losses severely damaged the company’s reputation. For instance, in AD 2019, former head of wealth management division, Iqbal Khan, accused then-CEO Tidjane Thiam of Credit Suisse of having him followed and harassed after he left to join rival bank UBS. Khan also claimed to have been pursued by private security firm Investigo on the streets of Zurich. This espionage scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Tidjane Thiam in February AD 2020.

In AD 2021, Credit Suisse Group suffered nearly $10 billion in pre-tax losses due to the bankruptcies of the U.S. family investment fund Archegos Capital and the British financial firm Greensill Capital, both of which were invested in by the company. Although independent investigations found no evidence of fraud or illegal activity, there was indeed a “lack of effective risk management” affecting investor confidence. By the end of the summer of AD 2022, despite newly appointed CEO Ulrich Koerner announcing a strategic review intended to restore confidence, rumors implying the imminent collapse of the company led clients to withdraw CHF 110 billion (approximately $119 billion) in funds in the fourth quarter of the year, causing the company’s stock price to plummet by about three-quarters within a year.

In early AD 2023, Credit Suisse Group announced plans to borrow $54 billion to strengthen its asset liquidity in hopes of restoring investor confidence. However, in mid-March, the Saudi National Bank, a major investor, stated that it would no longer provide additional funding due to regulatory obstacles, becoming the final straw that broke Credit Suisse Group’s back. On March 19th, UBS announced its acquisition of Credit Suisse Group, with regulatory approval expected to be completed by June. With this, the 167-year history of Credit Suisse Group came to an end.

物件編號: A174

年代: 未知

材質: 黃金

來源: 臺灣私人收藏 2024

該物件是瑞士信貸集團的100克金條，正面印有公司名稱、重量、純度和金條編號。下方矩形框內還有法文「Essayeur Fondeur」字樣，作為瑞士製造的品質保證。背面則打印上多個瑞士信貸的品牌商標。

瑞士信貸集團是公元1856年由阿爾弗里特·愛舍（Alfred Escher）成立，受到同時代的法國銀行投資鐵路的啟發，其主要業務是藉由瑞士政府的貸款向鐵路項目提供資金。隨著公元1882年，瑞士國內和銜接鄰國的鐵路網大抵完工，愛舍投資的瑞士東北鐵路成為公司重要的收益來源。此外在公元1871年，瑞士信貸集團還協助建立起瑞士的貨幣體系，使其成為瑞士地位最為顯赫的銀行之一。

隨著公司的進一步發展，其業務版圖還大舉擴張至全球五十多個國家。提供一系列的私人銀行服務、投資和資產管理外，瑞士信貸集團還成為服務各國政府、大型企業和機構的「大型投資機構」(Bulge Bracket)。然而進入公元21世紀，瑞士信貸集團先後面臨：內部爭議、領導層變動和財務損失等困境。雪上加霜的是，一系列的間諜醜聞、客戶挖角和鉅額財務損失深深重創公司的聲譽。像在公元2019年，前財富管理部門負責人伊卡巴爾·汗（Iqbal Khan）指控時任首席執行官的譚天忠（Tidjane Thiam），在他離職加入對手瑞士聯合銀行（UBS）便派人跟蹤騷擾他。伊卡巴爾還聲稱受到私人保安公司Investigo在蘇黎世街道公然駕車追逐他和他的妻子。這一項間諜醜聞使譚天忠不得不在公元2020年2月離職。

公元2021年，瑞士信貸集團投資的美國家庭投資基金Archegos Capital和英國金融公司Greensill Capital倒閉，使得公司遭受近十億美元的稅前損失。雖然經獨立調查發現公司沒有詐欺和違法行為，卻確實存在「缺乏有效管理風險」影響投資人信心。公元2022年夏末，即便新任的首席執行官Ulrich Koerner公布一項戰略評估意圖振興信心，卻受到一則暗示公司即將倒閉的謠言影響，令客戶在該年度第四季撤出1100億瑞士法郎(約合1190億美元)的資金，使得公司股價在一年內下跌約四分之三的慘況。公元2023年初，瑞士信貸集團對外宣布計畫借貸540億美元，冀望強化資產流動以恢復投資者的信心。然而3月中旬，作為主要投資者的沙特國家銀行表示，礙於監管障礙將不再提供更多資金，成為壓垮瑞士信貸集團的最後一根稻草。3月19日，瑞士聯合銀行宣布將收購瑞士信貸集團，經監管機構批准在6月完成收購。至此長達167年的瑞士信貸集團走入歷史。