UBS completes historic takeover as Credit Suisse ceases to exist
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In just over a year since the emergency takeover, UBS delivered many of the things it set out to do when agreeing to buy Credit Suisse.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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UBS Group completed the historic acquisition of its former rival Credit Suisse, marking a new chapter for the Swiss financial sector as the defunct bank has formally ceased to exist.
“Today we have achieved a significant milestone in our integration journey,” chief executive officer Sergio Ermotti said in a statement on May 31.
The merger is an important next step in the task faced by Mr Ermotti to see through the massive integration. It’s “critical to facilitating the migration of clients onto UBS platforms” and it will “unlock the next phase of cost, capital, funding and tax benefits”, Mr Ermotti said.
The end of Credit Suisse Group as a separate legal entity closes the book on a bank that played a central role in the history and development of Switzerland. The former Schweizerische Kreditanstalt was founded in 1856 to finance the build-out of the mountainous nation’s railway network, subsequently growing into a powerhouse that symbolised the country’s role as a global financial centre.
However, Credit Suisse struggled to adapt to a changed banking landscape after the financial crisis and descended ever deeper into crisis over the past few years when it got hit by a series of scandals and legal issues. It ultimately needed a rescue when a crisis of confidence during the last months of 2022 and early 2023 meant that clients pulled out a torrent of money.
In just over a year since the emergency takeover, UBS delivered many of the things it set out to do when agreeing to buy Credit Suisse.
The transition to a single US intermediate holding company is planned for June 7 while the merger of Credit Suisse (Schweiz) and UBS Switzerland are expected to happen in the third quarter of 2024, the lender said in the statement on May 31. As of today, UBS “has succeeded to all the rights and obligations” of Credit Suisse, including outstanding debt instruments, it said.
Credit Suisse has not traded as a single entity since June 13, when the first leg of the merger completion took place. The bank’s shares were delisted from the Swiss stock exchange and the New York Stock Exchange respectively. BLOOMBERG
