UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti gave his strongest indication yet that the Swiss government and central bank will avoid taking a financial hit from the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse Group AG.
Losses are “exceptionally unlikely,” Ermotti said at a media forum in the Swiss city of Lucerne on Friday. The CEO reiterated comments from earlier this month that the bank will “do everything” within its power to avoid taxpayer support as part of the government-backed rescue of Credit Suisse in March.
UBS is embarking on one of the most complex integrations in global banking since the 2008 financial crisis as it seeks to retain the clients and talent of its long-time rival while shedding riskier assets. To ease the takeover, the Swiss government agreed to absorb about 9 billion francs ($10.1 billion) of losses that UBS might take. The bank would bear the first 5 billion francs of losses, giving UBS an added incentive to preserve value as it winds down unwanted assets.
The Swiss National Bank also agreed to provide additional liquidity lines of 200 billion francs in total as part of the deal, which will see UBS pare back large parts of Credit Suisse’s investment bank.
That combined support gives the transaction a backdrop of political drama after Switzerland and other countries globally sought to put an end to taxpayer-financed bailouts after the 2008 crisis.
Ermotti sought to portray the deal as a unique opportunity to improve Switzerland as a financial center. UBS considered growing via deals after the financial crisis and also looked at Credit Suisse several times during his first stint as CEO, he said at the event.
Credit Suisse had to be rescued in March after a series of scandals and missteps undermined the confidence of clients and investors. When referring to outflows of client money at Credit Suisse, Ermotti said “the situation has stabilized,” without giving further details. Credit Suisse said last month that it had 61.2 billion francs of outflows in the first quarter.
UBS is on track with a plan to close the transaction in less than three months from when the takeover was announced, according to the CEO. The focus is also on integrating the investment banks and the future of Credit Suisse’s domestic unit, the Swiss Universal Bank, he said.
The bank had initially said it wanted to keep that business, but has now said it’s open to all options.
UBS should have a solution for the Swiss business after the Summer break, finews.ch cited Vice Chairman Lukas Gaehwiler as saying on the sidelines of the Lugano Banking Day on Thursday.
The merger doesn’t create a bank that’s too big for Switzerland and there is sufficient competition in the country, Ermotti said. The CEO declined to speculate on the number of jobs that may be cut.
(Updates with comments on Swiss financial center in sixth paragraph)
Author: Bastian Benrath, Myriam Balezou and Nicholas Comfort
