UBS bank announces purchase of Credit Suisse for more than US$ 3 billion

The UBS group, Switzerland’s largest bank, announced this Sunday (19) that it has reached an agreement to buy Credit Suisse for US$ 3.24 billion. The combined companies will manage more than $1.5 trillion in invested assets.

UBS indicated that it plans to reduce the number of employees at Credit Suisse, which has about 1,000 employees in Brazil and 50,000 worldwide, but did not specify the size of the cut.

UBS chairman Colm Kellenher said the new period will be “difficult for employees” at Credit Suisse. “We will try to make this period of uncertainty as short as possible,” he told a news conference with members of the Swiss government.

Kellenher assured that after this operation his bank will remain “solid as a rock” and that his strategy in this new stage will be to “increase our capital”. Among the details he offered, Kellenher said he would downsize Credit Suisse’s investment banking unit, which has been the biggest troublemaker in recent years and which has been embroiled in several scandals that have tarnished its reputation.

That investment bank “will not represent more than 25% of the bank’s assets,” he said. The president of UBS also indicated that Credit Suisse First Boston, the bank’s investment bank incorporated in the United States, will continue to operate. “We are committed to making this operation a great success”, said the executive.

In a note published on its website, UBS said that “the acquisition will further strengthen UBS’s position as the leading Swiss wealth manager, with more than US$3.4 trillion in combined invested assets, operating in the fastest growing markets. attractive”.

Kelleher called the Credit Suisse purchase an “emergency bailout”. “This acquisition is attractive to UBS shareholders but, let’s be clear, as far as Credit Suisse is concerned, this is an emergency bailout. We have structured a transaction that will preserve the amount spent on the deal, limiting our negative exposure. The acquisition Credit Suisse’s capabilities in Swiss wealth management, asset management and universal banking will further UBS’ strategy to expand its capital-light business.”