(MENAFN- Swissinfo)
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Ailing Swiss bank Credit Suisse will be taken over by its rival UBS after a frantic last-ditch deal to prevent a catastrophic banking collapse.
This content was published on March 19, 2023 March 19, 2023 minutes swissinfo.ch/mga Deutsch
(de)
credit suisse stimmt der 3-milliarden-übernahme durch die ubs zu Español
(es)
credit suisse acepta ser retomado por el banco ubs Português
(pt)
ubs aceita comprar credit suisse por três bilhões de francos 中文
(zh)
瑞士信贷接受竞争对手瑞银集团30亿瑞郎的收购方案 عربي
(ar)
مصرف يو بي إس يستحوذ رسميا على منافسه كريدي سويس مقابل 3 مليارات من الفرنكات Pусский
(ru)
банк ubs поглощает credit suisse за 3 миллиарда 日本語
(ja)
スイス金融大手ubs クレディ・スイスを約4260億円で買収
A weekend of high drama ended with UBS agreeing to buy Credit Suisse for CHF3 billion ($3.2 billion). This values Credit Suisse at CHF0.76 per share, well below its CHF1.86 closing price on Friday.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) will smooth the transaction by providing CHF100 billion in liquidity to UBS and Credit Suisse during the takeover. The government has agreed to absorb up to CHF9 billion of potential UBS losses.
The collapse of the 'too big to fail' Credit Suisse would have caused 'irreparable economic turmoil' in Switzerland and around the world, said Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter. The takeover has 'laid the foundations for greater stability'.
'This is a commercial solution, not a bailout,' she added.
Credit Suisse chair Axel Lehmann called the takeover a 'historic, sad and challenging' event. The combined entity will be led by current UBS CEO Ralph Hamers and chair Colm Kelleher.
The Swiss government pushed through the takeover by controversially sidelining major Credit Suisse shareholders, including the Saudi National Bank and the Qatar Investment Authority, which pumped billions into the bank last year .
Weekend negotiations took place between Credit Suisse, UBS, the Swiss government, central bank and the financial regulator.
The financial authorities of other countries were also involved in the process as their blessing was needed to seal any deal.
Catalogue of problemsThe rushed takeover follows a week of mounting woes for Credit Suisse that led to fears that Switzerland's second largest bank would go bust.
Bank collapses in the United States sent Credit Suisse into freefall during the course of the week. Clients withdrew billions of francs every day, according to media reports.
The SNB provided emergency liquidity to stave off a full-blown bank run and Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to chf50 billion from the central bank.
But the SNB's backstop funding offer was not enough to convince depositors and investors, forcing the authorities to take further measures.
Credit Suisse has endured a disastrous few years, culminating in a chf7.3 billion loss in 2022 . That same year, the bank said it would shed 9,000 jobs in an attempt to revive its fortunes.
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