UBS Buying Credit Suisse? Give It a Chance
A marriage of Switzerland’s big banking rivals would be a challenge for regulators and politicians. But there’s enough logic in the idea to justify trying.
UBS Chairman Axel Weber is exploring the idea of a merger just Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti is departing.
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/BloombergThe idea that Switzerland’s biggest banks could merge into a $76 billion behemoth sounds like the dream of a soon-to-retire chairman seeking to leave a historic legacy. Surely there is no way that Switzerland would welcome UBS Group AG buying arch-rival Credit Suisse Group AG.
A combination would have $1.9 trillion of assets, more than twice the country’s annual GDP, and be far too dominant in its home market. After UBS’s bailout in the financial crisis, taxpayers would surely fret at the creation of a bigger, more complex bank. Yet, on paper, the strategic and financial logic is too appealing to ignore.