UBS is in discussions to take over all or part of Credit Suisse, as the boards of Switzerland’s two largest lenders are set to meet separately over the weekend to consider Europe’s most important banking make-up since the financial crisis, according to several people briefed on the talks. .
People said the Swiss National Bank and regulator VENEMA are organizing talks in an effort to boost confidence in the country’s banking sector. Their intervention comes days after the central bank was forced to provide an emergency credit line of 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) to Credit Suisse.
However, this failed to stop the slide in its share price, which fell to record lows after its largest investor ruled out offering any additional capital, and its boss admitted the continued exodus of wealth management clients.
UBS has a market capitalization of $56.6 billion, while Credit Suisse shares closed at $8 billion on Friday.
Swiss regulators told their US and UK counterparts on Friday night that the merger of the two banks was their “Plan A” to stem the collapse of confidence in Credit Suisse, a person familiar with those discussions told the Financial Times.
A number of different options are under discussion between the two banks, another person told the Financial Times, who added that both sides are trying to assess regulatory constraints in different jurisdictions. This person added that UBS is also analyzing the potential risks a deal might entail for its own business.
One person said the focus of the central bank is to agree on a simple and straightforward solution before the markets open on Monday. There is no guarantee of a deal.
Credit Suisse declined to comment. UBS declined to comment, as did the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve. The Swiss National Bank did not respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story. More to track. . .