Global Banking Monitor

Monday, September 25, 2023

ADIB: Best New Digital Feature 2023

We'd like to congratulate the digital banking...

Seamless Saudi Arabia 2023: Highlights and Key Insights

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of...
HomeOpinionUBS to buy Credit...

UBS to buy Credit Suisse for $2bn (Maybe) [Updated]

This is an opinion piece by our Analyst Team.

Update on 20th March: CNN reports the figure is actually $3.25 billion.

The ‘wires’ (Bloomberg specifically) are live this Sunday evening with news from lots of ‘well placed sources’ suggesting for sure that maybe UBS will acquire Credit Suisse for 2 billion dollars ‘tomorrow’ or as soon as possible to try and bring somewhat of a resolution to the current issue.

Current, because if this goes ahead, there are likely to be a lot more follow-on problems. There will be a lot of people upset at this – and the strong hint that the Swiss government/central bank is going to set aside a ‘budget’ to cover all of the predicted legal problems in future – will probably encourage a wide variety of legal cases.

That said, $2 billion isn’t that bad of a deal (from one limited perspective) given that Credit Suisse closed on Friday with a public valuation of about $8 billion. That in itself was shocking. But once everyone’s had the weekend to digest this and transfer their remaining funds out of the beleaguered bank, what amount would/will the share price open tomorrow morning? Less than the UBS offer?

Who wants to check?

Fascinating.

I for one would like to see how things would have panned out if Credit Suisse was instantly nationalised. I am not sure the country or the European banking system is better off without the strong player that Credit Suisse was and could have become again. You need a ying to the UBS yang. There is a ridiculous amount of value in the Credit Suisse brand, infrastructure, knowledge and capability of the bank’s 50,000 staff.

You can follow along with the rest of the market at Bloomberg’s live blog on the issue right here. You need to bring your own popcorn.

Latest Featured Post

Riding the Digital Wave: Fintech Trends Reshaping Kazakhstan’s Finance Landscape

Explore the fintech trends reshaping Kazakhstan's financial landscape, from the rise of digital payments and open banking to the growth of super-app ecosystems and the democratisation of capital markets.

Latest Award

ADIB: Best New Digital Feature 2023

We'd like to congratulate the digital banking team at ADIB (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank) for enhancing their international payments capability in both their mobile...

Recently published

More from Author

ADIB: Best New Digital Feature 2023

We'd like to congratulate the digital banking team at ADIB (Abu...

Recognizing the Technological Success of Sohar International Bank’s Merger with HSBC Oman

It gives us immense delight to announce that Sohar International has...

Only 25% of UAE Banks have a tech chief on their executive committee

We were astonished when we looked at the figures from our...

Qatar Central Bank’s FinTech Strategy

There was a lot of buzz across the GCC region recently...

ADIB: Best New Digital Feature 2023

We'd like to congratulate the digital banking team at ADIB (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank) for enhancing their international payments capability in both their mobile app and internet banking services. Their LinkedIn announcement a little while ago caught our attention: It highlighted that the team have added a new...

Recognizing the Technological Success of Sohar International Bank’s Merger with HSBC Oman

It gives us immense delight to announce that Sohar International has earned our Technology Excellence Award for its successful merger with HSBC Oman completed earlier this month.  The commitment, efficiency, and teamwork exhibited by every member involved in this merger is worthy of immense admiration and we are...

Seamless Saudi Arabia 2023: Highlights and Key Insights

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of a digital transformation, positioning itself as a prominent global investment hub. Seamless was Saudi Arabia's event dedicated to e-commerce, retail, fintech, digital marketing, logistics and payments. It was hosted at the Riyadh Front Exhibition Centre from 4 to 5 September...

Riding the Digital Wave: Fintech Trends Reshaping Kazakhstan’s Finance Landscape

Explore the fintech trends reshaping Kazakhstan's financial landscape, from the rise of digital payments and open banking to the growth of super-app ecosystems and the democratisation of capital markets.

Scalapay’s $10,000 Scholarship Boosts Abbl’s Startup Journey

How Scalapay, the Australian FinTech unicorn, is nurturing startups with its $10,000 Scale Up Scholarship program

FinTech Boom in MENA: Top FinTech Investments of August 2023

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are witnessing a surge in FinTech activity. Many believe this is fueled by the emergence of new startups and an expanding population of individuals new to banking. August 2023 has proven to be a particularly fruitful month, with significant investments...

Strengthening Fintech Ties: Israel and Bahrain Regulators Sign Cooperation

Context of the partnership In a noteworthy development focused on fostering innovation and offering essential regulatory support to the burgeoning fintech sector, the Israel Securities Authority and the Central Bank of Bahrain have formalized a partnership through a recently signed agreement as reported by Times of Israel. Bahrain's Foreign...

UK House-Building Declines Again Amidst Impact of Rate Hikes: PMI

Britain’s construction sector returned to growth in July but house-builders suffered another sharp contraction due to higher interest rates and fears about the outlook for the economy, a survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recovered to 51.7, its highest level since February...

Boosting the Private Economy: China’s Strategies and Initiatives

High-rises dominate the skyline on both sides of the Huangpu River in Shanghai. China unveiled 28 detailed measures to boost the private economy on Tuesday, including promoting fair market access, offering stronger financial support, boosting legal guarantees, optimizing services and creating a sound atmosphere for private companies. Read More...

Indonesia’s Q2 GDP Growth Likely to Moderate as Exports Weaken, Reuters Poll Shows

Indonesia’s economy likely grew 4.93% from a year earlier in the April-June quarter, the slowest since the third quarter of 2021, due to weakening global demand for its exports, according to the median forecast of 22 economists polled by Reuters. On quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy was expected to...

World Gold Council Explores the Determinants of Gold’s Price Movement

During periods of turmoil, gold tends to make headlines as fans of the precious metal argue it can act as a safe haven. But is it also an inflation hedge? Is it considered a risk asset? Joe Cavatoni, market strategist and head of Americas at the World Gold...

US Inflation Data to Offer Relief for the Fed

A closely watched measure of US inflation will probably illustrate more of the moderate price growth that the Federal Reserve wants to see sustained. The consumer price index is projected to rise 0.2% in July for a second month after excluding food and energy costs, marking the smallest...