Swiss banking giant UBS to buy troubled rival Credit Suisse to avoid a larger global financial crisis

Author: Editors Desk Source: USA Today

March 20, 2023 at 06:40

The illuminated logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen behind a clock at the banks headquarters at Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday, March 18, 2023. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

The Swiss government said it would provide more than $9 billion "in order to reduce any risks for UBS" and "potential losses arising from certain assets that UBS takes over as part of the transaction."

Banking giant UBS is buying its smaller rival Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in global banking, Swiss President Alain Berset announced on Sunday night.

Berset called the announcement "one of great breadth for the stability of international finance. An uncontrolled collapse of Credit Suisse would lead to incalculable consequences for the country and the international financial system."

The Swiss Federal Council, a seven-member governing body that includes Berset, said in a press release Sunday that it was providing a guarantee of liquidity from the Swiss National Bank to Credit Suisse.

"The Federal Council is taking this measure in order to protect financial stability and the Swiss economy," it the council// said.

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