LONDON (Reuters) – A committee that reviews disputes in the credit default swaps (CDS) market said on Monday that it had been asked to address a question of whether there is a successor to Credit Suisse Group.
This comes on the day that UBS completed its emergency takeover of embattled local rival Credit Suisse, creating a giant Swiss bank with a balance sheet of $1.6 trillion and greater muscle in wealth management.
The CDS panel said on its website it has accepted the question by an investor and it will meet on Tuesday at 13:00 GMT to discuss it.
If a succession event occurs, the relevant successor will become a reference entity for the purposes of a CDS.
An investor noted that in this case, UBS Group AG would become the new reference entity for Credit Suisse Group’s CDS contracts, but unless there is a credit event, the CDS contracts would not be triggered and UBS would not be liable.
Investors’ hopes for a payout on Credit Suisse’s CDS were dashed twice by the committee, which said that neither a so-called government intervention credit event nor a bankruptcy credit event had occurred.
The state-orchestrated merger will create a group that oversees $5 trillion in assets, giving UBS a leading position in key markets it would otherwise have needed years to grow in size and reach, while bringing to an end Credit Suisse’s 167-year history, marred in recent years by scandals and losses.
(Reporting by Chiara Elisei, editing by Karin Strohecker)
