Swiss bank UBS announced today that it has finalized its emergency acquisition of rival Credit Suisse. In a June 12 press release, UBS confirmed that it has merged Credit Suisse Group AG into UBS Group AG. In addition, the company noted that the banks will now function as a “consolidated banking group.”
According to UBS, Monday will also mark the final day for trading of Credit Suisse Group AG stock on the Swiss exchange and the NYSE. Accordingly, Credit Suisse shareholders will be compensated at a rate of one UBS share per 22.48 shares of Credit Suisse.
The end phase of an emergency acquisition
The finalization of UBS’ emergency takeover comes nearly three months after Swiss regulators helped to orchestrate the deal. In fact, Swiss regulators worked feverishly in March to push through the agreement after Credit Suisse suffered from months of turbulence. According to regulators, the acquisition was designed to help restore confidence in Switzerland’s financial sector.
With the acquisition now complete, UBS’ assets are estimated to be somewhere around $5 trillion. As Visbanking’s Brian Pillmore noted after the acquisition, the entire GDP of Switzerland is roughly $800 billion. At the time, he wondered what that might mean for the country’s ability to enforce future regulatory changes.
The road ahead
UBS’ press release confirmed that UBS Group AG will be tasked with managing UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG. In fact, the company plans to operate each as separate parent banks. As a result, they will reportedly maintain their own branches and subsidiaries to serve their respective clients.
UBS Group AG Chairman Colm Kelleher celebrated the news, noting:
“I‘m pleased that we’ve successfully closed this crucial transaction in less than three months, bringing together two global systemically important banks for the first time. We are now one Swiss global firm and, together, we are stronger. As we start to operate the consolidated banking group, we’ll continue to be guided by the best interests of all our stakeholders, including investors. Our top priority remains the same: to serve our clients with excellence.”
