SWX investigated whether or not Credit Suisse Group had selectively passed information to analysts in the days preceding the publication of its third-quarter figures for 2002. According to rumours appearing in the "NZZ am Sonntag" newspaper of 10 November 2002, Credit Suisse Group had had to book a CHF 350 million charge for tax items to its financial statements. The consolidated quarterly statements for Q3/2002, published on 14 November 2002, carried a CHF 410 million charge in the "Taxes" item of the Credit Suisse Group income statement. Credit Suisse Group itself stated that it had contacted only one analyst in advance of publication of the quarterly figures, in order to draw his attention to an obvious error in the calculation of the tax item. In doing so, Credit Suisse Group had referred exclusively to information already in the public domain. Credit Suisse Group disputes the representation of events as published by the "NZZ am Sonntag".
The newspaper article on 10 November 2002 claimed that several analysts had received tips - relevant to ad hoc-publicity regulations - from Credit Suisse Group so that they could adjust their profit forecasts with regard to taxes. These claims could not be substantiated with the information available to SWX, and the enquiries found no grounds for an improper conduct on the part of Credit Suisse Group. SWX has consequently halted proceedings.
