Financial markets have been thrown a fresh curve ball by the decision to write down 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.5 billion) of Credit Suisse bonds, known as Additional Tier 1 or AT1 debt, to zero as part of a forced rescue merger with UBS .
AT1 bonds - a $275 billion sector also known as "contingent convertibles" or "CoCo" bonds - act as shock absorbers if a bank's capital levels fall below a certain threshold. They can be converted into equity or written off.
They make up part of the capital cushion that regulators require banks to hold to provide support in times of market turmoil.If AT1s are converted into equity, this supports a bank's balance sheet and helps it to stay afloat. They also pave the way for a "bail-in", or a way for banks to transfer risks to investors and away from taxpayers if they get into trouble.AT1s rank higher than shares in the capital structure of a bank.
In Switzerland, the bonds' terms state, however, that in a restructuring, the financial watchdog is under no obligation to adhere to the traditional capital structure, which is how bondholders lost out in the Credit Suisse situation. Credit Suisse AT1 holders, therefore, are the only ones not to receive any kind of compensation. Under the rescue deal, they rank lower than shareholders in the bank, who can at least get UBS' takeover price of 0.76 Swiss francs per share.
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