Switzerland's Two Largest Banks Toy With Marriage - Media

Tom Burroughes

15 September 2020

The chairmen of : that figure has fallen below 300 from a decade ago. A mix of rising regulatory burdens, negative official interest rates and increased client demands have caused consolidation in the industry. On the other side, geopolitical uncertainties in some parts of the world have only served to highlight Switzerland’s value as a stable, relatively prosperous jurisdiction.

UBS is in the middle of a leadership transition, with former ING Groep NV head Ralph Hamers taking over from CEO Sergio Ermotti in November. At Credit Suisse, Thomas Gottstein has taken over as CEO from Tidjane Thiam, who resigned following a spying scandal at the bank. (Thiam was not implicated in that episode).

The blog said that a merger could cause job cuts of between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the workforce, or 15,000 personnel or more worldwide.

(Editor’s note: For all the reasons stated here, after more than half a decade of negative official interest rates, there has been considerable pressure on Swiss banks. That pressure is not going away soon. A matter of concern is whether FINMA would be happy to see UBS and Credit Suisse, the largest and second largest banks, respectively, merging. That is not just about job losses, but about market concentration. Both banks have recently seen changes at the top, albeit for different reasons. Recent Credit Suisse results have been positive; UBS continues to enjoy the drive of a powerful global brand. Both of these firms have made Asia a big regional priority, cutting investment banking exposures. As Swiss Bankers Association numbers show, the total population of Switzerland-registered banks has steadily eroded over the past decade.)