HDFC Bank has secured favourable orders in all seven legal proceedings brought against it in Bahrain by investors who purchased Credit Suisse additional tier 1 (AT1) bonds through the Bank, marking another setback for claims alleging mis-selling and other lapses in the transactions.
The High Civil Court in Bahrain rejected two more cases on 9 September 2026, following the dismissal of five similar matters between July and August, HDFC Bank said in a statement.
The cases centred on investments in Credit Suisse AT1 bonds, a class of high-risk bank securities that came under global scrutiny after UBS took over Credit Suisse in 2023 and the Swiss authorities approved a complete write-down of the lender's AT1 securities.
According to HDFC Bank, the seven investors had accused the Bank of gross negligence, intentional misrepresentation, incorrect customer classification, failure to disclose product features, misuse of financial leverage and breaches of product-suitability requirements in connection with their investments.
The Bank said the Bahrain court rejected the allegations after finding that the investors had not produced sufficient admissible evidence to establish their claims or demonstrate that they had suffered losses as a result of any action by HDFC Bank.
The investors were also ordered to bear the costs of the proceedings in all seven cases, the Bank said.
The Bahrain decisions come months after the national consumer disputes redressal commission (NCDRC) in India dismissed complaints filed by investors in the Credit Suisse AT1 bonds against HDFC Bank in March 2026.
HDFC Bank said the consumer commission had held that the Bank's role was that of a facilitator and that investors retained the discretion to decide whether to invest in the securities.
According to the Bank, NCDRC found that the investors had made the investments voluntarily and approached HDFC Bank only after the securities failed to deliver the returns they had expected. The commission also noted that the investors were familiar with the nature and nuances of the investments when they made their decisions, HDFC Bank said.
The lender has maintained that it does not guarantee or underwrite investment decisions made by customers.
"Where required, the Bank will stand with its customers however the Bank is not in the business of underwriting the investments made by the customers out of their own judgement and it will therefore defend itself rigorously against any unsubstantiated claims," HDFC Bank said.
The Bank said the outcomes in Bahrain, together with the NCDRC decision, demonstrate its consistent success in defending allegations relating to the sale of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds.
The litigation stems from the collapse of Credit Suisse and its emergency takeover by UBS in March 2023. As part of the rescue, Credit Suisse's AT1 securities were written down to zero, while shareholders received value through the UBS transaction.
AT1 securities are designed to absorb losses when a bank comes under financial stress. Unlike conventional bonds, they can be written down or converted into equity when specified triggers are reached, making them significantly riskier for investors.
The sharp loss suffered by holders of Credit Suisse's AT1 securities triggered legal and regulatory disputes across jurisdictions, including claims by investors who had purchased the instruments through financial intermediaries.
For HDFC Bank, the seven judgments from Bahrain provide a favourable outcome in one such set of proceedings and reinforce its defence that it acted as an intermediary rather than as an underwriter of the investment risk.
The latest orders also add to a series of developments concerning investment products sold through HDFC Bank's Middle East operations, in which certain customer transactions have come under scrutiny.
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