‘End Of Great Uncertainty’: UBS Completes Takeover Of Credit Suisse, Creating Swiss Banking Giant

Update: 

We have noted “Massive Layoffs On Deck At Credit Suisse“ and “UBS Reportedly Re-Starts Layoffs” following the news of UBS Group AG’s historic takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG in late March.

Bloomberg reported that UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti told Swiss public broadcaster SRF on Monday that 10% of Credit Suisse’s workforce has departed the bank in recent months.

Our note earlier detailed that UBS “completed” the acquisition of Credit Suisse on Monday. The $3 billion deal, brokered by the Swiss regulators, prevented Credit Suisse from a collapse that would’ve sparked another global financial crisis.

Ermotti wouldn’t comment on future job cuts. He said last Friday, “That’s the toughest part of the task,” though it needs to be done to reduce costs.

“I’m sure that with early retirement, the fluctuation we will see and also a generous social plan, we will be able to bring this situation under control, but it will still be painful,” he said.

Recall Ermotti was recently brought back as CEO to supervise the historic acquisition of Credit Suisse. He said today after the merger was completed, “It’s the start of a new chapter — for UBS and the global financial industry.”

Now comes the hard part, as the full integration of Credit Suisse could take three to five years.

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UBS Group AG announced Monday it “completed” the acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG, about three months after Swiss banking regulators arranged an emergency deal to combine the country’s two largest banks to prevent Switzerland’s financial sector from a catastrophic meltdown that would’ve spread worldwide.

“UBS has completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse today, crossing an important milestone.

“Credit Suisse Group AG has been merged into UBS Group AG and the combined entity will operate as a consolidated banking group,” a statement from UBS read. 

Today is the final trading day for Credit Suisse shares on the SIX Swiss Exchange and Credit Suisse Group AG ADS on the New York Stock Exchange. Credit Suisse shareholders will receive one share in UBS for every 22.48 in stock.

UBS previously announced the following governance model pending further integration of the two banks:

• UBS Group AG will manage two separate parent banks – UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG. Each institution will continue to have its own subsidiaries and branches, serve its clients and deal with counterparties.

 • The Board of Directors and Group Executive Board of UBS Group AG will hold overall responsibility for the consolidated group.

UBS agreed to purchase Credit Suisse in March for $3.25 billion in a rescue deal after a regional banking sector meltdown in the US.

Switzerland’s financial regulator FINMA said, “The legal consummation of the merger between UBS Group and Credit Suisse Group marks the end of a phase of great uncertainty.” The regulator added, “This creates clarity and stability.”

UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti, recently brought back to supervise the historic acquisition of Credit Suisse, said, “It’s the start of a new chapter — for UBS and the global financial industry.”

The merger of the two global banks has created a behemoth in Switzerland, with $1.7 trillion in total assets and a nearly 40% market share of the country’s loans and deposits.

With the merger completed, UBS has already said job cuts are coming as restructuring efforts will save it billions of dollars. The two banks employ 37,000 people, about 18% of the financial sector’s workforce.

“Today, we welcome our new colleagues from Credit Suisse to UBS. Instead of competing, we’ll now unite as we embark on the next chapter of our joint journey,” Ermotti said.

UBS said full integration of Credit Suisse could take three to five years.