LONDON (Reuters) – Two sources familiar with the plans of the Swiss authorities and the (UBS) group said that the two parties are racing against time to complete the acquisition of the Credit Suisse Group within less than a month, in an attempt to retain the bank’s customers and employees.
But the two sources, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said merging Credit Suisse into UBS may take longer, possibly months, because the deal needs to be approved by regulators in dozens of countries.
Spokesmen for UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
“UBS is fully committed to the acquisition of Credit Suisse… Now it is very important that both parties do everything they can to make the acquisition a success,” said Thomas Jordan, chairman of the board of directors of the Swiss Central Bank, on Thursday, expecting the next two weeks to be decisive.
“This is absolutely necessary and we have obtained all commitments from both parties that they will do everything they can to make this acquisition a success.”
The vice-chairman of the board of directors refused to comment when asked about more specific details about the timing of the completion of the deal at the media conference itself.
“We are awaiting final regulatory approvals globally, so we will close this transaction as quickly as possible … it will take weeks or short months to complete effectively,” UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said on Sunday.
(Prepared by Muhammad Aysem for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Ali Khafaji)
