Townhall | Credit Suisse AT1 Bondholder Group Action (Japan)

Withers will be holding a Townhall at 4:00pm (Japan time), on 19th February for Japan holders of the Credit Suisse Additional Tier-1 bonds ('Japan bondholders').

The Townhall will be held virtually (via Zoom). Please click the RSVP button to register your interest to participate.

This townhall will be conducted in English.

Background

In March 2023, the Swiss government and authorities facilitated a merger between UBS and Credit Suisse, resulting in UBS acquiring Credit Suisse. In the process, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ("FINMA") triggered a complete write-down of the Credit Suisse Additional Tier-1 bonds ("CS AT1 Bonds") worth almost US$17 billion. 

As a result, bondholders were left with nothing, while Credit Suisse shareholders retained some value. This action contradicted the usual creditor hierarchy where shareholders absorb the loss of a company first. The write-down sparked global controversy and legal challenges.

Some bondholders have commenced proceedings against FINMA and UBS in the Swiss Federal Administrative Court ("SFAC"). In October 2025, the SFAC handed down its decision in one of these proceedings. The SFAC determined that the write-down of the CS AT1 Bonds was unlawful. The SFAC decided, among other things, that the contractual conditions (ie. the "viability event" clause) were not satisfied to trigger the write-down, FINMA was not authorised to write-down the CS AT1 Bonds, and that FINMA's action violated principles of Swiss administrative law including the principles of legality and proportionality. 

FINMA and UBS are appealing that decision. The decision has raised hopes on the part of bondholders for successful recovery. 

We are acting on behalf of bondholders across Asia, including bondholders in Japan.

Japan bondholders

We are looking to commence proceedings on behalf of bondholders in Japan against Switzerland under an investment treaty. The applicable investment treaty between Japan and Switzerland is the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Swiss Federal Council on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments. The investment treaty allows Japan bondholders i.e. Japanese investors to commence arbitration proceedings against Switzerland for the unlawful write-down of CS AT1 Bonds.

Omni Bridgeway, a leading global third-party disputes funder, is looking to fund these claims on a non-recourse basis, in collaboration with Withers and Drew & Napier. This means claimants do not have to pay for any legal fees and are protected against adverse costs risk if the claims are unsuccessful. If the claims are successful and result in monetary compensation (or the equivalent thereof) to bondholders, claimants will have to pay Omni Bridgeway only out of such recoveries. More details about the funding will be discussed at the townhall.

Our collaboration is expected to become the single largest coordinated treaty-arbitration group brought by AT1 bondholders anywhere in the world.

We urge affected bondholders to sign up and we plan to initiate any claims by March 2026.

Please sign up for our Townhall to learn more about the proceedings against Switzerland on behalf of Japan bondholders.

For more details, please click here.