(News Bulletin 247) – For the boss of the Swiss financial market regulator, the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS will go through with the process. But the manager wishes to underline “the Herculean task” represented by the union of the two Swiss banks, which according to him should “take many years”.

The director of the Swiss market policeman said he was convinced on Wednesday that the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS will be well finalized but stressed that the integration of the two banking giants married in the emergency will be “a Herculean task”.

Urban Angehrn and the chairman of the Finma board of directors, Marlene Amstad, also explained at length the seriousness of the situation which led to the takeover on March 19 of the number two bank in Switzerland by the number one UBS, at the end of a “historic” rescue operation.

Both insisted, as the federal government had done when the last chance deal was announced, that there was no other solution to avoid a disaster for the Swiss financial centre.

“I have every confidence that the project will be finalized”, explained Mr. Angehrn during a press conference, explaining however that there was “still a lot of work”.

“A Herculean task that will take several years”

Before becoming a megabank, UBS and Credit Suisse still need the approval of the US and UK authorities. Here too, Mr. Angehrn estimated that the two establishments will get the green light for their merger.

But after the finalization comes the integration of the two banks. “It’s a Herculean task that will take several years”, explained the manager, underlining the difficulty “to bring two banks together, the systems, the accounting, the employees but also in the medium term to transform two very different corporate cultures. in one”.

Especially since a toxic culture of risk and a lack of control is often put forward as an explanation for the fall of Credit Suisse, undermined by repeated scandals. Oversight of the new megabank will be “a top priority,” the two officials said.

To do its job better, the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority also wants more powers, particularly in terms of sanctions. That Finma cannot impose fines is an exception among financial centres, underlined Marlene Amstad.

As a supervisory authority, Finma has been dealing with Credit Suisse for some time now, Ms Amstad said, recalling that the supervisory authority has published six enforcement proceedings against the bank, which in itself is already exceptional.

(With AFP)