Banking giant UBS will absorb Credit Suisse’s more than 100-year-old brand and cut around 3,000 jobs in Switzerland to “fix” its former rival, which was in such bad shape it was forced to buy it out, in the biggest banking deal since the 2008 global financial crisis.

After considering several options, including a split, UBS decided to fully integrate the Swiss division of Credit Suisse, which combines retail banking, mortgages and Swiss corporate lending; as the bank announced today, during the publication of the results of the second quarter.

The decision for a division seen as Credit Suisse’s best business will lead to the elimination of “1,000 jobs” in Switzerland by the end of 2024, UBS chief Sergio Ermotti said at a news conference with financial analysts.

A further 2,000 jobs will be cut in the coming years due to the need for a “deep restructuring” of Credit Suisse’s operations, he underlined, giving the image of a vulnerable bank even in the Alpine country.

In March, under pressure from the Swiss authorities, UBS had agreed to buy its former rival for “only” three billion Swiss francs in order to avoid bankruptcy.

In total the two banks employed around 120,000 associates worldwide at the end of 2022, including 37,000 in Switzerland, although departures have multiplied since the merger was announced.

Markets welcomed the decision, with UBS shares up 4.96% at 10:50 Greek time at 23.26 Swiss francs.

In practice, UBS and Credit Suisse will continue to operate separately in Switzerland until their planned merger in 2024. The two brands will be maintained until clients are transferred to UBS’s systems in 2025.

In the second quarter of the year, Switzerland’s largest bank pocketed a net profit of $29.2 billion, up from $2.1 billion in the second quarter of 2022, due to several one-time items arising from this merger.

Credit Suisse, for its part, posted a pre-tax loss of 8.9 billion Swiss francs (9.2 billion euros) in the second quarter.