After a government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse, UBS has shouldered some of the responsibilities of the now-defunct bank. This shouldn’t be the case, according to UBS chairman Colm Kelleher.
Previous filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that before the government-brokered merger, UBS considered a takeover of the now-defunct Credit Suisse undesirable.
Nonetheless, it was not only forced to save the Swiss rival but is also shouldering some of its responsibilities, such as $387 million in fines by Swiss, US, and UK regulators over Archegos-related misconduct.
A Lesson For Global Regulators
According to UBS chair Colm Kelleher, the bank shouldn't be penalized under the given circumstances.
«If you step in to do the right thing, which in our case was bailing out Credit Suisse and stabilizing the system, what you can't have is post hoc penalties over and above what was agreed at the time,» Kelleher said in a live stream of a panel at the Hong Kong-based «Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit».
«So I think a lesson for global regulators must be: if somebody steps in to do the right thing […] it should be appropriately rewarded.»
«Private Solution is Always Better»
In retrospect, Kelleher underlined that a government-brokered deal was not necessary.
«I want to make it very clear that resolution would have worked for Credit Suisse, but it would have been very messy. The theory is that G-SIFI banks do have resolution plans and they can work,» he explained. «Having a private solution is always better for these G-SIFIs.»
Migration in Asia
On the integration, Kelleher said it was «going very well» with priority first placed on technology and client migration in Asia. He also noted that he was not worried about liabilities acquired from Credit Suisse.
