Switzerland’s biggest bank, UBS, is under pressure from authorities to finalize its takeover of rival Credit Suisse today in the hope of avoiding a collapse and a contagion of market panic tomorrow, Monday.

Read about: UBS seeks $6 billion in guarantees for possible Credit Suisse takeover

Members of the government met this morning at the finance ministry in Bern, reports 20 Minutes newspaper, to discuss this matter of capital importance to the Swiss economy.

The president of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berchet, as well as members of the Federal Council arrived at the Ministry of Finance at 08:30 (Greece time). The seven members of the government had already met yesterday, Saturday.

The deal to buy Credit Suisse from UBS is to be sealed today during an emergency meeting in the government capital of the heads of the two giant banking institutions, the generally well-informed tabloid Blick reported yesterday.

Such an approach is a complex affair that would normally take months. UBS only had a few days.

But the Swiss authorities have no choice but to push UBS to overcome its reservations because of enormous pressure from Switzerland’s major economic and financial partners, who express fears for their own financial markets, Blick reports.

The Bank of England is backing the takeover

The Bank of England has informed its international partners and Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, that it will support the proposed acquisition of Credit Suisse, as the British Sky News network reported today.

The Bank of England declined to comment.