Wednesday, 26 April 2023, Bengaluru, India
UBS announced on Tuesday that it would like to complete the takeover of rivals Credit Suisse in the second quarter after the Swiss bank reported a profit of $1 billion in the first quarter.
UBS was the center of attraction after it reported plans to take over Switzerland’s second-largest bank after UBS. Analysts from various agencies, especially Swiss financial newswire AWP, predicted UBS’ profits to drop to $1.7 billion from the previously registered profit of more than $2 billion a year ago.
UBS has only managed to ramp up a profit of about $1 billion in the first three months of the year 2023, and it has seen strong client inflows as it looks to inculcate Credit Suisse into its systems.
“Our solid underlying performance and strong inflows this quarter demonstrate that we continue to be a source of stability for our clients during periods of significant uncertainty,” returning chief executive Sergio Ermotti
Credit Suisse also revealed on Monday that nearly $70 billion of its remaining financial resources had been withdrawn from the bank. These numbers are for the first three months of 2023 alone. Credit Suisse published these results for the last time before the bank integrated with Switzerland’s largest bank UBS.
“We are focused on completing the acquisition of Credit Suisse, most likely in the second quarter of 2023,” UBS said in its statement regarding the merger.
“While acknowledging the magnitude of, and complexity associated with, the integration and restructuring of Credit Suisse, we believe that this combination presents a unique opportunity to bring significant, long-term value to all of our stakeholders,” the report further stated.
Our balance sheet for all seasons and a diversified and capital-generative business model allowed us to be part of the solution in a critical moment for the Swiss and global financial systems,” Sergio added.
While a merger of two of the biggest banks in a country may not seem worrisome, the chairman Colm Kelleher reported otherwise and stated that the merger comes with huge risk, and to make things develop smoothly, the bank hired former chief executive Ermotti to oversee the takeover.
Credit Suisse revealed on Monday that the bank saw 61.2 billion Swiss francs ($68.6 billion) withdrawn in the first quarter of 2023 alone, showing consistent numbers on comparing with last year’s results. Credit Suisse saw 110.5 billion Swiss francs in withdrawals in the fourth quarter of last year. While Credit Suisse’s words speak cautiously of the numbers, it has yet to start things to reverse the situation the bank is in.
Sources – The Times of India
