UBS to acquire rival bank Credit Suisse amid crisis
The FTSE 100 was down 0.7 per cent as markets opened in London, after UBS agreed a rescue deal to buy its banking rival Credit Suisse in a $3.2bn takeover.
Asia markets were also mostly down on Monday morning, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index leading losses in the region – falling more than 2 per cent and dragged down by healthcare stocks, CNBC reported.
The Shanghai Composite was up 0.27 per cent, while the Shenzhen Component was 0.39 per cent higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 0.83 per cent down and the Topix was 0.9 per cent lower. Meanwhile in South Korea, Kospi is 0.27 per cent lower while the Kosdaq was trading at 0.69 per cent higher.
UBS’s merger has been welcomed internationally, with the US Federal Reserve and Treasury saying Switzerland had moved to “support financial stability”.
British chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Bank of England have also hailed the deal.
The 167-year-old Credit Suisse was brought to the brink of financial calamity last week despite a £45bn emergency loan from Switzerland’s central bank.
