Swissinfo, Credit Suisse AT1 bond ‘rip-off’ could cost Swiss taxpayer, 2023-06-08 ([Internet, 2023-06-27](https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/credit-suisse-at1-bond--rip-off--could-cost-swiss-taxpayer/48575624))
Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds are financial debt instruments created after the 2008 banking crash, which are designed to protect banks against collapse when they run into trouble. Regulators such as FINMA insist that large banks issue a certain amount of this debt instrument as a buffer against bankruptcy. Investors accept that the bonds will be converted into bank shares in times of exceptional financial difficulty. In exchange, AT1s pay out higher coupons (interest payments) than normal bonds.