Almost three months since closing the deal, UBS Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti is working through the implementation of one of the biggest mergers ever in global finance. The deal was hastily assembled in March as Credit Suisse hurtled toward bankruptcy after clients lost confidence in the 167-year-old institution. Ermotti confirmed that 3,000 positions will go in Switzerland alone as a result of the merger.
UBS Group AG posted the biggest-ever quarterly profit for a bank in the second quarter as a result of its emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, and confirmed that it would fully integrate the local business of its former rival by next year.
The US$29 billion ($39.19 billion) gain is a result of the accounting difference between the US$3.8 billion price UBS paid for Credit Suisse and the value of the acquired lender’s balance sheet. Underlying profit for the first combined UBS-Credit Suisse quarter came in at US$1.1 billion.
