Credit Suisse plans to borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank

Credit Suisse plans to borrow up to 50 billion francs ($54 billion) from Switzerland’s central bank and buy back about $3 billion of its debt to boost its liquidity and investors a day after the stock price plunged calm.

The Swiss National Bank said on Wednesday it was ready to provide Credit Suisse with a liquidity backstop after shares of the troubled lender fell as much as 30 percent. The sell-off came after the head of the National Bank of Saudi Arabia, a major Credit Suisse shareholder, ruled out further investment.

In a statement Thursday, Credit Suisse said it made the decision to “preemptively bolster its liquidity” by borrowing the funds from the SNB under a credit facility and a short-term liquidity facility.

The Zurich-based bank also said its international subsidiary would repurchase some of the senior debt of Credit Suisse’s operating company for up to CHF 3 billion in cash. It is planned to make a cash tender offer for 10 US dollar-denominated senior notes valued at up to US$2.5 billion and four euro-denominated senior notes valued at up to €500 million.

Offers expire on March 22nd.

Chief Executive Ulrich Körner said the measures “demonstrate decisive action to strengthen Credit Suisse as we continue our strategic transformation”. Körner’s restructuring included selling part of Credit Suisse’s investment bank and cutting thousands of jobs.

The move is Credit Suisse’s latest attempt to regain investor confidence after a series of scandals and setbacks rocked the Swiss bank and pushed its share price to record lows.

Credit Suisse shares closed down 24.2 percent on Wednesday, pushing their market value below CHF 7 billion. Shares in the bank, which raised CHF 4 billion a few months ago, have fallen 39 percent this year and 85 percent over the past two years. U.S.-listed Credit Suisse shares rose 5.6 percent in after-hours trading.