Swiss prosecutors open probe into UBS takeover of Credit Suisse – POLITICO

Swiss prosecutors have launched an investigation into whether there was illegal activity accompanying government intervention surrounding UBS’s emergency takeover of Credit Suisse earlier this year. The banks’ deal was seen as a way of preventing a potential financial crisis on a national and global scale. The statement by the prosecutor’s office said it aimed to “contribute to a clean Swiss financial centre” through the investigation.

It was suggested by Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger that the joined banks could cut jobs by as much as 30%. The deal has not proved popular locally either, with minister of finance Karin Keller-Sutter defending it by saying shareholders could have gone “home empty-handed” had the banks not acted.

Jürg Zeltner, the chief of the wealth-management unit at UBS, stated on Thursday that the bank is anticipating improved investment banking results, with a slow start to the year countered by a strong second quarter. Earlier this year, UBS was required by Swiss authorities to purchase Credit Suisse in a deal that created a new entity.

UBS’ investors are pressing the bank to consider a move to the Netherlands to avoid the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, reports suggest. Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam has also spoken of relocating a proportion of banking jobs and activities for major clients to Dublin, frankfurter or Paris, warning that offices in London currently fulfilling this role will not be able to continue as they are under a “hard” Brexit scenario.



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