Timeline: Countdown to mega merger - how Credit Suisse wobbled and UBS rushed to rescue

Credit Suisse AG

05/06/2023 05:56

ZURICH, June 5 (Reuters) - UBS Group  UBSG.S  takeover
of Credit Suisse  CSGN.S , arranged by the Swiss authorities to
stave off a broader banking crisis, is set to become official as
early as June 12, the bank said on Monday. 
    The closing of the tie-up marks the final chapter for the
167-year old institution after years of scandals and missteps
eroded customer confidence and brought the lender to the brink
of collapse.
    Here are the main events in the run-up to the biggest
banking deal since the global financial crisis.
   
   FEBRUARY
    Feb. 28 - Swiss regulators rebuke Credit Suisse for
"serious" failings in its handling of a multi-billion business
with now defunct financier Greensill, the third such public
censure in two years.
    
    MARCH   
    March 9 - Credit Suisse postpones publication of its annual
report after a last minute call by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC), which raised questions about its
earlier financial statements.
    
    March 13 - Credit Suisse shares hit a record low after the
entire banking sector sells off in the wake of the collapse of
Silicon Valley Bank.
    
    March 14 - Publishing its delayed 2022 annual report, Credit
Suisse says it had identified "material weaknesses" in internal
controls over financial reporting and not yet stemmed customer
outflows.
    
    March 15 - The Swiss National Bank pledges to fund Credit
Suisse with liquidity "if necessary" - the first such move for a
big bank since the global financial crisis. Earlier, Credit
Suisse's largest shareholder - Saudi National Bank - said it
would not increase its stake in the lender, sending its shares
plunging by a fifth.
    
    March 16: Credit Suisse says it intends to borrow up to 50
billion Swiss francs  ($56.25 billion)from the Swiss National
Bank in "decisive action" to boost its liquidity.
    
    March 19: An emergency rescue of Credit Suisse, brokered by
the Swiss government, central bank and financial regulator, is
announced. Under the deal, UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse for a
knockdown price of 3 billion Swiss francs in stock and agreed to
assume up to 5 billion francs in losses. Detailing the events
later in a regulatory filing UBS said it was rushed into a deal
it did not want.
    
    March 20 - The rescue triggers a political backlash in
Switzerland, with parties on the right and left warning about
the huge risks and the size of the combined entity. 
    
    March 21 - Swiss authorities impose curbs on bonus payments
for Credit Suisse employees. 
    
    March 23: Switzerland's financial market regulator FINMA
defends its decision to impose steep losses on Credit Suisse
bondholders, calling the decision legally watertight.
    
    March 29 - UBS rehires former CEO and turnaround specialist
Sergio Ermotti to steer the takeover.
    
    APRIL 
    April 3 - Switzerland's federal prosecutor opens an
investigation into the merger. Separately, some holders of
Credit Suisse AT1 bonds wiped out by the merger instruct lawyers
to represent them for possible litigation to recover losses.
    
    April 4 - Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann apologises to
investors for taking the bank to the brink of bankruptcy at the
bank's final shareholder meeting.
    
    April 5 - The Swiss government orders Credit Suisse to
cancel or cut all outstanding bonus payments for senior
management. 
    - Separately, UBS executives seek to assure shareholders the
takeover will succeed, despite calling it a "Herculean task."
    
    April 6 - UBS CEO Ermotti tells Credit Suisse staff to stay
focussed on the business, but warns of "change and hard
decisions" ahead.
    
    April 11 - The Swiss Bank Employees Association demands a
freeze on job cuts at both banks until the end of 2023. Swiss
media had earlier reported up to 11,000 jobs could be lost in
Switzerland.
    
    April 12 - Switzerland's parliament rejects the government's
aid for the merger in a largely symbolic vote.
    
    April 15 - The Federal Reserve approves UBS's acquisition of
the U.S. subsidiaries of Credit Suisse.
    
    April 24 - Credit Suisse says 61 billion Swiss francs in
assets had left the bank in the first quarter, as it reported
what were probably its last ever quarterly results.
    
    April 26 - Switzerland's Federal Administrative Court says
it has received "several hundred" claims against the country's
financial regulator FINMA after it wrote off the value of Credit
Suisse's AT1 bonds.
    - A regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission shows that UBS considered in December the effect of
it taking over Credit Suisse, but concluded such a move was not
desirable.
    
    MAY
    May 9 - UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti unveils his new leadership
team for the combined group, based largely on experienced UBS
executives and keeping only Credit Suisse CEO - and also former
UBS executive - Ulrich Koerner from the stricken bank. 
    
    May 12 - Ermotti says the situation at Credit Suisse has
stabilised, adding he did not think customer outflows were
continuing.
    
    May 16: UBS  UBSG.S  flags in a regulatory filing tens of
billions of dollars of potential costs - and benefits - from its
takeover of Credit Suisse  CSGN.S , underscoring the high stakes
involved. 
    
    May 17 - The office of the upper house of the Swiss
parliament decides that Credit Suisse's rescue will be
investigated by a special commission.
    
    May 23 - The Swiss finance ministry issues an order
cancelling or reducing outstanding bonuses of Credit Suisse
managers, implementing a decision announced in April.
    
    May 30 - Switzerland's Social Democratic Party says it has
drawn up a proposal to shrink UBS assets after the takeover,
saying the new bank posed huge risks for the country because of
its size and an implicit state guarantee.
    
    JUNE
    June 2 - UBS  UBSG.S   CEO Sergio Ermotti warns of painful
decisions about job cuts following the takeover of Credit
Suisse, which he said should be finalised in a few days, and
dismisses concerns the new bank will be too big for Switzerland.
    ($1 = 0.8889 Swiss francs)

 (Reporting by John Revill
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
 ((John.Revill@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 36 37; Reuters
Messaging: john.revill.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))