(Reuters) -Credit Suisse Group AG is working with banks including Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Morgan Stanley on a potential capital increase, should it need to shore up its balance sheet and raise funds for its restructuring, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A capital increase through a possible share sale, under the name Project Ghana, could come after the bank’s formal restructuring announcement on Oct. 27, the report added.
The report said that Credit Suisse, one of Europe’s biggest banks, would likely seek at least $2 billion to cover restructuring and any operating losses over the next couple of years as it pivots the business.
The Swiss bank is trying to recover from a string of scandals, including losing more than $5 billion from the collapse of investment firm Archegos last year, when it also had to suspend client funds linked to failed financier Greensill.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs last week said the capital shortfall could be as large as 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.03 billion) by 2024. They saw the bank facing “headwinds” including weak markets and an investment bank they said lacks scale.
Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Royal Bank of Canada did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Earlier, Reuters reported citing a source that Credit Suisse has approached at least one Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund for a capital injection, while some funds are looking at the scandal-hit bank’s businesses as potential investment opportunities.
Credit Suisse shares, which have fallen by nearly half this year, closed 1.6% higher.
($1 = 0.9960 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru and Noele Illien in Zurich; Editing by Susan Fenton and David Evans)