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Swiss leaders are holding a news conference Sunday night following several media reports that banking giant UBS is believed to be in talks to acquire its smaller rival Credit Suisse in an effort to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in global banking.
The Federal Council, the seven-member governing body that includes Swiss President Alain Berset, is expected to announce that UBS is acquiring Credit Suisse in a potential deal brokered by the Swiss government.
Credit Suisse is designated by the Financial Stability Board, an international body that monitors the global financial system, as one of the world’s globally systemic important banks. This means regulators believe its uncontrolled failure would lead to ripples throughout the financial system not unlike the collapse of Lehman Brothers 15 years ago.
Sunday’s news conference follows the collapse of two large U.S. banks last week that spurred a frantic, broad response from the U.S. government to prevent any further bank panics. Still, global financial markets have been on edge since Credit Suisse’s share price began plummeting this week.
The 167-year-old Credit Suisse already received a $50 billion loan from the Swiss National Bank, which briefly caused a rally in the bank’s stock price.
