The possible Merger of Credit Suisse and UBS might have taken a halt as UBS Chairman, Axel Weber recently told Bloomberg that he doesn't see the closure of the deal in the new future.
“It’s always accretive if two domestic banks talk about mergers, but they are very, very hard to implement,” Weber said. “I don’t expect these things to happen at the current juncture. I think this will be things discussed for years to come before we see any concrete movement.”
Weber’s statement came just after Credit Suisse Group’s Chairman Urs Rohner said that the merger would not be ‘unreasonable’. Additionally, he thinks that there would be many benefits from the merger.
Reports of the UBS and Credit Suisse merger first came in September. Though neither the banks confirmed the news, Weber was likely to become the chairman of the combined entity, and someone from Credit Suisse might take up the position of CEO.
Shuffle in Management
Both Weber and Rohner are stepping down from their position and the banks also had a reshuffle in their management.
Though Weber rejected any talks on the merger two months ago, Credit Suisse CEO, Thomas Gottstein said that the banks might consider the merger.
“We just had new management,” Weber added. “The chairman over there is changing, my term is nearing an end. This is not the time where you go into discussions like that.”
If merged, the combined Credit Suisse and UBS entity will be a major banking player but will still remain smaller than its US competitors. However, a deal of this size is expected to attract regulatory scrutiny.
Meanwhile, profits of UBS in the third quarter surged 99 percent yearly after its business tanked because of the Coronavirus pandemic impact.
