On Friday evening, the Financial Times reported that top-level talks between Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and failing Credit Suisse (CS) were underway over this weekend—under pressure from Bern and the country’s Swiss National Bank (SNB). The authorities reportedly urged the heads of the two major Swiss banks “to agree on a simple and straightforward solution before markets open on Monday,” March 20, the FT wrote, by which they meant a takeover of CS by UBS.
The Swiss financial blog “Inside Paradeplatz” wrote that the run on deposits at Credit Suisse had continued despite the $54 billion injection this week by the SNB. They explained: “CS has existed for 167 years and was the pride of Zurich. Due to the internal takeover of the American investment bankers, the headquarters on Paradeplatz [in central Zurich] lost control.
“The bosses at corporate headquarters left the profits in private and retail banking to Wall Street dealers for their risky bets. In return, the ‘bosses’ in Switzerland received lavish bonuses. Now thousands of employees, many of them long-serving and over 50, are paying the price. After a takeover by UBS, they could no longer find a place in the enlarged bank.” (https://insideparadeplatz.ch/2023/03/18/grounding-2-0/ )
