Credit Suisse Culls Nine of Its Infamous ETNs Post UBS Takeover

Credit Suisse Group AG is ending nine of its 12 outstanding exchange-traded notes as the bank trims the business following its abrupt takeover by UBS Group AG earlier this year.

(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG is ending nine of its 12 outstanding exchange-traded notes as the bank trims the business following its abrupt takeover by UBS Group AG earlier this year.

The list includes eight VelocityShares products that were delisted back in 2020 and have been trading over-the-counter since, according to press releases Thursday. All told, the nine ETNs hold less than $50 million combined, Bloomberg-compiled data showed, and remaining investors will receive cash settlements.

Credit Suisse was once one of the prominent issuers of exchange-traded notes — unsecured debt obligations backed by the bank that issued them, rather than its assets — and as such, has played a starring role in some of the industry’s more infamous moments. That includes 2018’s ‘Volmageddon’ episode, which was precipitated by a Credit Suisse ETN, followed by the bank’s oil note being wiped out two years later when crude prices turned negative.

Even with the planned accelerations, Credit Suisse isn’t retreating from the ETN business altogether. The $343 million X-Links Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETN (ticker USOI), $123 million Credit Suisse X-Links Silver Shares Covered Call ETN (SLVO) and the $79 million Credit Suisse X-Links Gold Shares Covered Call ETN (GLDI), which make up the bulk of the bank’s ETN assets, will continue to trade.

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