BlackRock denies a report that it is preparing a takeover offer for Credit Suisse

BlackRock has denied a report that it is ready to make a takeover offer for embattled Swiss lender Credit Suisse.

“BlackRock is not involved in any plans to acquire all or any part of Credit Suisse, and has no interest in doing so,” a company spokesperson told CNBC Saturday morning.

come after The Financial Times reported that the US asset manager was working in a bid to take over the bank, citing people familiar with the situation.

UBS was also mooted as a potential buyer, with FT reports Friday that it was in talks to acquire all or part of Credit Suisse, after a difficult week for the bank that saw its share price plunge.

Its future appears to hang in the balance after a multi-billion dollar lifeline offered by the Swiss Central Bank last week failed to calm investors.

Credit Suisse shares posted their worst weekly drop since the coronavirus pandemic hit last week, and are down nearly 35% for the month so far.

The latest drop in stock prices came after the largest investor, the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, revealed that it would not provide the bank with any more cash, and comes after a delay in its annual results due to concerns about financial reporting.

The failure of the Silicon Valley bank, the largest banking failure since Lehman Brothers, and the closure of Signature Bank in New York exacerbated tensions around the banking sector.

Credit Suisse was already in the midst of a massive strategic overhaul aimed at restoring stability and profitability. It has faced numerous scandals and controversies over recent years, including the fallout from its involvement with the collapsing supply chain finance firm, Greensill Capital, which resulted in $1.7 billion in losses.

A default at hedge fund Archegos Capital soon after resulted in another $5.5 billion loss for the Swiss investment bank.

This – and other controversies – have hit investor and customer confidence hard, with the bank losing billions of dollars in deposits as a result.

— CNBC’s Ganesh Rao and Elliott Smith contributed to this report.