UBS fully integrates Credit Suisse Switzerland
UBS has announced its intention to fully integrate Credit Suisse's Swiss Bank. A business division will also be created in which areas of CS that do not fit in with UBS will be bundled.
It is now clear that Credit Suisse Switzerland will disappear from the market as a brand. UBS has announced that it will fully integrate the Swiss business of CS. "Full integration is the best solution for UBS, our stakeholders and the Swiss economy," said CEO Sergio Ermotti at the presentation of the half-year figures. The legal merger is expected to take place in 2024, with the Credit Suisse brand and business activities continuing until clients are migrated to UBS's systems. According to Ermotti, this is expected to be completed in 2025.
UBS intends to cut costs by USD 10 billion by the end of 2026. No details were initially provided regarding job cuts. Observers assume that a total of 30,000 jobs could be cut, a third of them in Switzerland.
New business division for CS positions
Ermotti also announced that a division has been established "which will contain all positions and business areas of Credit Suisse that do not fit our strategy and corporate policy". According to the UBS press release, this includes the Capital Release Unit of CS as well as a large part of the assets and liabilities of the Investment Bank, Wealth Management and Asset Management of Credit Suisse.
UBS's non-core and legacy portfolio and, to a lesser extent, UBS divisions that were classified as non-strategic in light of the Credit Suisse takeover will also be transferred to the new division. UBS intends to reduce the positions in this division as quickly as possible. (ah)
