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3. Unwanted Fight Between Two IT Departments

Something that cannot be overstated is the role of information technology. Both banks have undertaken a lot of effort in recent years in their quest to build a state-of-the-art IT. Both in their own way, be it in client-facing areas of their business or in the back office.

A merger would make a lot of IT staff redundant and one of the two would have to stand back and allow the IT of the other bank to emerge as the new standard for a merged company.

In reality, this is an unrealistic scenario. As an example, Credit Suisse only just launched its own digital banking app for retail clients. New UBS CEO Hamers has his plans of how to evolve the digital footprint of the bank. 

The IT departments of the two banks can't possibly afford a transition period of 18 months. That's a significant reason why this much-hyped merger is nothing but baseless speculation, an idea that would carry no benefit for shareholders, clients or employees.

  • Read more about the options available in the fast-moving European banking industry in the coming days.