"It is expected to create a business with more than USD 5 trillion in total invested assets," he said. Wednesday marks Ermotti's first official day back in the job, but he is not expected to attend the annual general meeting in Basel. The bank's annual general meeting comes a day after executives at Credit Suisse faced their own shareholders and Chairman Axel Lehmann apologised for leading the bank to the verge of bankruptcy. On Tuesday, Reuters also reported that the Bank of England had approved UBS' takeover of Credit Suisse in Britain, a key market for the Swiss lenders racing to close the rescue deal. UBS also secured a temporary green light from European Union antitrust regulators to complete its acquisition of Credit Suisse, but will still have to request clearance under EU merger rules, the European Commission said. (Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by John O'Donnell, Varun H K and Tomasz Janowski)
(Corrects CEO's first name in paragraph 10)
By Noele Illien
BASEL, April 5 (Reuters) - UBS executives told
shareholders on Wednesday that its unexpected takeover of Swiss
rival Credit Suisse in the biggest bank rescue since
the global financial crisis was a milestone for the industry and
a major challenge for the bank.
Describing the transaction as "the first merger of two
globally systematically important banks," Chairman Colm Kelleher
sought to assure investors saying it also meant "a new beginning
and huge opportunities ahead for the combined bank and for the
Swiss financial center as a whole."
Last month, Swiss authorities announced that UBS would buy
Credit Suisse in a shotgun merger to stem further banking
turmoil after the smaller lender had come to the brink of
collapse.
After a run on deposits, the Swiss government had turned to
UBS, which agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss
francs ($3.3 billion), while the Alpine state put up more than
200 billion francs of support and guarantees.
The move angered not only shareholders but many in
Switzerland. A survey by political research firm gfs.bern found
a majority of Swiss did not support the deal that would create a
financial institution with assets double the size of the
country's annual economic output.
Shareholders of Switzerland's largest bank will have the
chance to air their views, although they may be wary about
rocking a boat that had been on a steady course.
For 2022, UBS reported a net profit of $7.6 billion and
strong inflows in wealth management, the company's flagship
division.
Now, the bank is looking at how to navigate the mammoth task
of integrating Credit Suisse, the success of which Switzerland
depends on, without undermining its strengths.
It has already taken the first steps. Last week, UBS
announced it had rehired Sergio Ermotti as chief executive to
steer the massive takeover - a surprise move to take advantage
of the Swiss banker's experience rebuilding the bank after the
global financial crisis.
Addressing shareholders for the final time as chief
executive, Ralph Hamers acknowledged the merger has led to new
priorities for the bank, bringing a change at its helm.
"The acquisition of Credit Suisse will be a major
challenge," Hamers said, while echoing the bank's chairman in
highlighting new opportunities.
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