Credit Suisse may take legal action against SoftBank over Greensill debt

December 27, 2021

CNA – Credit Suisse is seeking information through the United States (US) courts which could lead to it taking legal action in Britain against SoftBank Group Corp to recover funds it said are owed to its Greensill-linked supply chain finance funds, US court documents show.

Switzerland’s second-largest bank has been working to recover funds from the collapse of some USD10 billion in funds linked to insolvent supply chain finance firm Greensill.

Credit Suisse declined comment, while SoftBank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Swiss bank has been focusing on some USD2.3 billion in loans provided by Greensill, which imploded in March, to three counterparties including SoftBank-backed Katerra, for which late payments have accrued.

Katerra filed for bankruptcy in June, and had estimated liabilities of USD1 billion to USD10 billion and assets of USD500 million to USD1 billion, according to court filings at the time.

In a petition filed on Thursday with a US federal court in San Francisco, Credit Suisse is seeking information it said would support a lawsuit it plans to file against SoftBank and other affiliates in Britain over USD440 million it said are owed by Katerra.

“The documents the Subpoena requests are relevant to an anticipated court proceeding in England against, among potentially other parties, SoftBank Group Corp. and certain of its affiliates including SoftBank Vision Fund LP, SoftBank Vision Fund II-2 LP, SVF Abode (Cayman) Limited, SVF II Abode (Cayman) Limited, and SVF Habitat (Cayman) Limited,” attorneys for the bank said in the filings.

Credit Suisse on Thursday filed a section 1782 Discovery, aiming to obtain documents and communications exchanged between SoftBank and Katerra. This statute allows foreign parties to apply to US courts to obtain evidence for use in proceedings.

The Swiss bank is seeking to establish what SoftBank executives, including chair and chief executive Masayoshi Son, knew about Katerra’s restructuring plans by subpoenaing documents through the US courts.

The Financial Times first reported the move on Friday.