Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS, pushed by the authorities, is ready to buy its rival Credit Suisse but at only a fraction of its value, according to the FinancialTimes. But time is running out to avoid a debacle and a wave of contagious panic on the markets on Monday.
According to the British daily, UBS would be ready to pay only 1 billion dollars (930 million euros). An offer rejected by Credit Suisse with the support of its main shareholder the Saudi National Bank, according to Bloomberg.
The transaction would be in shares only, explains the FinancialTimes at a price of 25 cents per Credit Suisse share, when it was still worth 1.86 francs at Friday’s close, i.e. a total valuation of just under 9 billion.
The transaction has been examined in Bern by the federal government since the beginning of the morning, already meeting urgently on Thursday and Saturday.
According to the tabloid Blickit is in the federal capital that the agreement must be sealed again this Sunday during an extraordinary meeting of the federal councilors and the leaders of the two banking giants.
The merger between these banking giants, which are both part of the very closed club of 30 banking establishments that is too important for the global financial system to let them sink, must in any case be finalized before the opening of the Stock Exchange at 08:00 a.m. GMT on Monday, to avoid a wave of panic.
Pressure
The Swiss authorities have constantly pushed UBS to overcome its reluctance, because they themselves are subject to an obligation of result by partners who fear for their own financial center, says the Swiss daily Blick.
According to FinancialTimes And Blick, the bank’s customers withdrew 10 billion Swiss francs in deposits in a single day late last week. And this despite 50 billion francs on emergency loan from the Swiss central bank.
Bank managers should also be exempted from the obligation to consult shareholders, says the FinancialTimes.
Public guarantees
According to the Bloomberg agency, UBS demands that the public authorities bear legal costs and potential losses which can amount to billions of francs.
On Saturday, the discussions stumbled on the investment bank, according to the financial agency, one of the scenarios being studied being a recovery only of asset and wealth management with a sale of the investment bank.
The discussions also focus on the fate to be reserved for the Swiss branch of Credit Suisse, one of the profitable parts of the group which lost 7.3 billion Swiss francs last year and is still counting on “substantial” losses in 2023.
This branch brings together retail banking and loans to SMEs. One of the avenues considered by analysts is that of an IPO, which could limit layoffs in Switzerland due to duplication with UBS’s activities.
On Sunday, the union of bank employees in Switzerland “demanded” Sunday the participation of the social partners in the discussions, given the “enormous” stakes for employment.
What about the Competition Commission?
Credit Suisse has just experienced two years marked by several scandals which revealed, by management’s own admission, “substantial weaknesses” in its “internal control”. The market policeman had accused him of having “seriously breached his prudential obligations”.
By contrast, UBS, which spent several years recovering from the shock of the 2008 financial crisis and a massive state bailout, is beginning to reap the rewards of its efforts.
The Competition Commission could also raise eyebrows depending on the configuration of the takeover.
Faster, stronger
At the end of October, Credit Suisse had unveiled a vast restructuring plan providing for the elimination of 9,000 positions by 2025, or more than 17% of its workforce.
The bank, which employed 52,000 people at the end of October, plans to separate investment banking from the rest of its activities to refocus on its most stable parts, including wealth management.
But as pointed out Blick “Everything points to a Swiss solution this Sunday. And when the stock market opens on Monday, Credit Suisse could be a thing of the past.”