The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and the Swiss financial regulator reportedly believe that the acquisition of investment bank Credit Suisse by Switzerland’s largest bank UBS is the “only option” to prevent a “collapse of confidence” in Credit Suisse.
According to the Financial Times of March 18 message Switzerland is preparing to use “emergency measures” to speed up UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse in a bid to complete the acquisition before “markets open on Monday,” according to three people familiar with the situation.
It was noted that the extraordinary measures put in place would allow the deal to proceed without a shareholder vote, bypassing the usual Swiss regulations that require a “six-week” consultation period for shareholders to “consult the acquisition”.
The SNB and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) were said to be working to “reach a regulatory agreement” by Saturday night, reportedly telling international counterparts that they “consider an agreement” with UBS to be the “only option” to prevent a “collapse of trust” at Credit Suisse.
This is a developing story and more information will be added as it becomes available.
