ZURICH, Mar 19 UBS, the largest Swiss bank, will take over the crisis-ridden Credit Suisse, according to a press release from the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
«Today, UBS announced the takeover of Credit Suisse. This was made possible with the support of the Swiss Federal Government, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA and the Swiss National Bank,» the statement said.
It is specified that the SNB will provide significant assistance, namely 100 billion Swiss francs ($108 billion), of UBS liquidity to support the takeover of Credit Suisse.
«With the takeover of Credit Suisse UBS, a solution has been found to ensure financial stability and protect the Swiss economy in this exceptional situation,» the press release says.
According to UBS itself, under the deal, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive one UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares, equivalent to CHF 0.76 per share, for a total consideration of CHF 3 billion.
On Tuesday, financial commentator and best-selling author of «Rich Dad Poor Dad» Robert Kiyosaki said that the next bank to fail after US Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapsed would be one of the largest Swiss banks, Credit Suisse. In 2008, he accurately predicted the collapse of the American banking giant Lehman Brothers.
Later, the main shareholder of Credit Suisse Group, the Saudi Saudi National Bank, ruled out the possibility of providing financial assistance to the Swiss bank, citing regulatory problems.< br />
Against this backdrop, Credit Suisse shares plunged 24.2 percent at the close on Wednesday to 1.7 Swiss francs per share, and during trading the fall exceeded 30 percent. The bank, in turn, said it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs (approximately $53.7 billion) from the SNB.