Credit Suisse shareholders to file suit over UBS merger
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The case will be filed in Zurich on Monday, according to Arik Roschke of the Swiss shareholders' defense group (SASV), who confirmed the report.
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Logos of the Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS are seen on buildings in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 18, 2023. (AP)
According to The Financial Times on Sunday, hundreds of minor shareholders in Credit Suisse will file a civil complaint to seek compensation for their losses following the bank's forced rescue merger with UBS.
According to Arik Roschke of the Swiss shareholders' defense organization (SASV), who verified the information, the complaint will be launched in Zurich on Monday.
Roschke explained that almost 1,000 stockholders have joined the complaint by becoming SASV members.
Less than three months after conversations about merging the two banks began, Swiss banking giant UBS announced in June that it had concluded a deal to acquire Credit Suisse.
The merger terms, which valued the bank's equity capital at about three billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion), disappointed Credit Suisse shareholders.
That estimate, reached after a weekend of frenetic bargaining, was far lower than the seven billion francs declared only days before the purchase.
LegalPass, a legal startup, is preparing a similar class action suit and said in July that it had secured enough cash from hundreds of Credit Suisse stockholders to continue with the case.
In July, Switzerland's parliament launched an investigation into the bank's government-sanctioned acquisition.
The share price of Credit Suisse fell by about 30% in the middle of March, raising concerns about a liquidity shortage. A number of US financial institutions, including Silicon Valley Bank, collapsed shortly before the tragedy. The purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS was announced by the Swiss National Bank later in the month.
It is worth noting that by the end of May, the European Commission approved the takeover by UBS of its embattled banking rival Credit Suisse, ruling that the merger does not harm competition in Europe.
On March 19, UBS agreed to acquire global investment bank Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, in a government-brokered deal, for over $3.3 billion after the latter's market value plummeted sharply, nearing the bank from imminent bankruptcy.
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