FirstFT: UBS weighs Credit Suisse’s lawsuit against SoftBank after takeover

Credit Suisse’s London High Court lawsuit against SoftBank has been thrown into doubt following the Swiss bank’s rescue by rival UBS, which counts the Japanese conglomerate as a client, according to people with knowledge of the relationship.

Since the takeover was completed last week, UBS’s top legal team has been assessing the numerous lawsuits that Credit Suisse is embroiled in to weigh the merits of pursuing them against the potential damage to its business interests and reputation.

The deliberations came as SoftBank began its defence in the case brought by Credit Suisse over $440mn of losses tied to Greensill Capital, accusing the Swiss bank of trying to shift the blame for its own failings.

Credit Suisse, which was forced to close $10bn of client funds two years ago after specialist finance firm Greensill imploded, launched formal proceedings against SoftBank in April as part of its long-running attempts to reclaim money on behalf of its wealthiest clients.

Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on:

• Rebuilding Ukraine: Political and business leaders gather in London for a two-day conference to discuss Ukraine’s postwar recovery. The head of the European Investment Bank has urged EU states to begin reconstruction in an interview with the Financial Times.

• Economic data: The UK and South Africa have their consumer price indices for last month. Britain also has its producer price index and public sector finance figures, while Ifo publishes its economic forecast for Germany.

• Google lawsuit: A case management hearing is held for the class action case representing 19.5mn Android phone users brought by British consumer champion Liz Coll against Alphabet and its subsidiary Google.

• Companies: Berkeley Group and Liontrust report. Shareholders of London-based boutique bank Numis will vote on its acquisition by Deutsche Bank.

The Financial Times is holding its first FT School of Journalism workshop in London next Thursday. Learn first-hand how investigative reporter Dan McCrum uncovered the Wirecard financial scandal, in conversation with business columnist Helen Thomas. Sign up here.

Five more top stories

1. Exclusive: JPMorgan Chase is aiming to recover millions of dollars from an insurance policy that protected the US bank against fraud after its botched $175mn acquisition of financial aid start-up Frank in 2021, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank claims Frank founder Charlie Javice misled it about customer numbers.

2. Exclusive: Singapore’s $700bn sovereign wealth fund GIC has accelerated dealmaking in the US, investing in venture capital funds and technology companies as it searches for growth beyond China. Read the full story.

3. Exclusive: Beijing-based ByteDance is selling products to TikTok’s UK users through a new feature on the viral video app called “Trendy Beat”, which advertises items that have proven popular on videos. The items are shipped from China and sold by a company registered in Singapore owned by ByteDance, part of the group’s push to expand its own retail offerings. Learn more about the effort known internally as “Project S”.

4. Marks and Spencer, WHSmith and Argos are among more than 200 companies that failed to pay staff the minimum wage, according to the UK government. The offending companies have been fined £7mn on top of repaying the money owed to their employees. Here are other companies on the list published today.

5. Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to not paying income tax in excess of $100,000 on annual income of more than $1.5mn earned in 2017 and 2018. The son of US president Joe Biden also reached a deal with prosecutors over a separate offence of possessing a firearm as an unlawful or addicted user of a “controlled substance”. Here’s how the president and Republican opponents have responded.

The Big Read

During Brazil’s presidential elections last October, far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro had been attacking the electoral process in ways reminiscent of Donald Trump in the US. In the end, he accepted opponent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s win — a testament to the strength of the country’s institutions. But it was also due in part to a discreet, little-known, year-long pressure campaign by the US government.

We’re also reading . . . 

• Submersibles: The ocean has lured marine scientists to explore its depths for decades in submersibles similar to the tourist vessel that went missing travelling to the Titanic’s wreckage.

• Pasta panic: Producers are in hot water with EU governments and consumer groups over the household staple’s soaring prices.

• Sierra Leone: Ahead of elections on Saturday, rising costs have created an opening for the west African nation’s opposition politicians.

• Western populism: To rationalise western populism is a fool’s errand, writes Janan Ganesh, and yet it is one undertaken by people of the highest intelligence.

Chart of the day

More American companies have had to pay more for loans or abandon borrowing plans after being hit by shifts in the market for collateralised loan obligations, or CLOs, the investment vehicles that own roughly two-thirds of lowly rated US corporate loans.

Take a break from the news

The FT spoke to music star Pharrell Williams ahead of his Louis Vuitton debut at Paris Fashion Week. “This is not a job. This is not a gig. This is a dream,” Williams said about his unexpected appointment as creative director of menswear at the world’s biggest luxury brand.

Additional contributions by Benjamin Wilhelm and Gordon Smith