UBS CEO Says Bank Will Do Everything to Avoid Taxpayer Loss

UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said that the bank will do everything within its power to avoid imposing losses on taxpayers as part of the rescue of Credit Suisse Group AG.

(Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG Chief Executive Officer Sergio Ermotti said that the bank will do everything within its power to avoid imposing losses on taxpayers as part of the rescue of Credit Suisse Group AG.

Speaking at a finance event in Zurich on Wednesday, Ermotti also said that all options are still on the table for Credit Suisse’s Swiss unit and that the country should be proud that a local company could solve the banking crisis over a weekend.

UBS agreed to take over its smaller rival in an emergency government-backed deal in March, after Credit Suisse was hit by mounting client withdrawals. As part of the rescue, the Swiss government agreed to absorb about 9 billion francs of losses that UBS might take on the deal.

Ermotti said that pending the last regulatory approvals the transaction should close at the end of May or early June. He declined to comment on the scale of job cuts for the combined banks, though added that in the immediate term UBS would need more people in certain areas rather than fewer to help merge the businesses.

(Adds comment on job losses in fourth paragraph)

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