Switzerland's biggest bank UBS agrees to buy crisis-hit Credit Suisse in historic deal

The Swiss National Bank, in a statement, said, "UBS today announced the takeover of Credit Suisse"

Switzerland's biggest bank, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) has agreed to take over its troubled Swiss rival Credit Suisse in an emergency rescue deal to unleash the panic after the two American banks failed earlier this month, CNN reported.

The Swiss National Bank, in a statement, said, "UBS today announced the takeover of Credit Suisse."

"This takeover was made possible with the support of the Swiss federal government, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and the Swiss National Bank," the central bank added.

It said the rescue would "secure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy."

This deal came after the Swiss National Bank and the country's top regulator, Finma, told their international counterparts they regard a deal with UBS as the only option to stop Credit Suisse from collapsing, as per The New York Post.

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Credit Suisse (CS) had been losing the trust of investors and customers for years. In 2022, CS recorded the worst loss since the global financial crisis. And the confidence collapsed last week after it acknowledged "material weakness" in its bookkeeping and as the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank spread fear about weaker institutions at a time when soaring interest rates have undermined the value of some financial assets, reported CNN.

The CS witnessed a fall in shares of 25 per cent over the week. An emergency loan from the Swiss National Bank failed to stop the bleeding.

Desperate to prevent the meltdown from spreading through the global financial system on Monday, Swiss authorities had pushed hard for a private sector rescue, while reportedly considering Plan B -- a full or partial nationalization.

The emergency takeover was agreed to after a day of frantic negotiations involving financial regulators in Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom. UBS (UBS) and Credit Suisse rank among the 30 most important banks in the global financial system, and together they have almost USD 1.7 trillion in assets.

The global headquarters of UBS and Credit Suisse are just 300 yards apart in Zurich but the banks' fortunes have been on very different paths recently. Shares of UBS have climbed 15 per cent in the past two years, and it booked a profit of USD 7.6 billion in 2022. It had a stock market value of about USD65 billion on Friday, according to CNN citing Refinitiv.

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