UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s two largest banks, are in talks to potentially combine in what would be Europe’s most significant banking merger since the 2008 Great Recession, according to the Financial Times. Swiss regulators are pushing UBS to explore various ways it could be involved in a solution for Credit Suisse, which has been struggling with a crisis of confidence.[0] The boards of the two banks are expected to meet separately this weekend to weigh the idea, while UBS prefers to focus on its own wealth-management strategy, the FT reported, citing people briefed on the talks.[1]
The talks come after the Swiss National Bank provided an emergency credit line of CHF50 billion to Credit Suisse.[2] UBS is assessing the potential risks a deal could have for itself, according to one person familiar with the negotiations.[3] Meanwhile, BlackRock — which the FT had reported was interested in a deal — denied that it’s working on a possible rival bid for Credit Suisse Group AG.[2] UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment, as did the Swiss National Bank, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.[4]
0. “Credit Suisse (CS) Latest News & Analysis: UBS Is Said to Explore Deal” Bloomberg, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-17/ubs-is-said-to-explore-credit-suisse-deal-in-crisis-combination
1. “UBS in discussions to buy Credit Suisse: report” MarketWatch, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ubs-in-discussions-to-buy-credit-suisse-report-2e026881
2. “BlackRock Not Working on Rival Bid for Credit Suisse” Yahoo Finance, 18 Mar. 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-not-working-rival-bid-105117496.html
3. “UBS said to be in talks to take over embattled lender Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS)” Seeking Alpha, 17 Mar. 2023, https://seekingalpha.com/news/3948655-ubs-said-to-be-in-talks-to-take-over-embattled-lender-credit-suisse
4. “UBS is in talks to take over all or part of Credit Suisse, sources tell the Financial Times” CNBC, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/17/ubs-is-in-talks-to-take-over-all-or-part-of-credit-suisse-sources-tell-the-financial-times.html