All about the Parent Bank Merger

On 12 June 2023, UBS Group AG completed the legal close of the acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG by way of a statutory merger. The transaction marked an exciting and challenging new chapter in our history, as well as for Switzerland and the global financial industry. As we continue to move swiftly to integrate Credit Suisse, we have been focused on creating a smooth and transparent transition for all involved. 

One of the key next steps of the integration was to complete the legal merger of the operating parent banks Credit Suisse AG and UBS AG, including their respective branches and offices. This legal merger, or PBM, was concluded pursuant to the Swiss Merger Act on 31 May 2024.

The scope of the PBM was Credit Suisse AG and UBS AG (and their branches) but it did not include subsidiaries of Credit Suisse AG such as Credit Suisse International. The Credit Suisse AG subsidiaries have not themselves merged with UBS AG at this stage, but any ownership / control rights previously held by Credit Suisse AG have moved across to UBS AG following the completion of the PBM.

Please see the diagram below for the Group structure following the completion of the PBM.

The PBM is the statutory merger of UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG, whereby UBS AG remains as the surviving entity and Credit Suisse AG ceases to exist. By merging Credit Suisse AG with UBS AG, Credit Suisse AG’s business transferred to UBS AG and all assets, liabilities and contracts of Credit Suisse AG (and its branches) in principle automatically transferred to UBS AG (and its branches, as the case may be) by operation of law (the legal mechanism for this being “universal succession"). 

The PBM became legally effective upon registration in the commercial register in Switzerland.

Notwithstanding the legal merger described above, it is important to note that the two entities did not operationally merge at the time of the PBM. As such, there will be a transitionary period during which there may be two sets of contracts, operational infrastructure and processes.

While the PBM is a critical step towards full integration, the operational integration will take place on a different timescale: this will occur over time and will likely be business and product specific. We will keep you updated on our plans for the operational integration as they evolve.

Where the Credit Suisse IB businesses complement UBS's IB strategy, the corresponding positions/business will be transferred to UBS systems and infrastructure after we and our clients become operationally ready to allow for such transfer. Consequently, should any positions require a transfer to UBS Investment Bank’s books in order to be managed on UBS AG’s operational infrastructure, we will approach our clients in the coming months to notify them of this transfer.

No, positions within the Investment Bank businesses of Credit Suisse entities that were subsidiaries of Credit Suisse AG prior to the PBM are not guaranteed by UBS AG. 

Yes, UBS AG ensured it had the appropriate authorizations / licenses, including obtaining new / augmentations to existing permissions as necessary to ensure that UBS AG maintained the existing portfolio of Credit Suisse AG business upon completion of the PBM.

Up-to-date published ratings are available on our investor relations site: https://www.ubs.com/global/en/about_ubs/investor_relations/debt/ratings.html

Organizational decisions that were in-flight since the integration was announced have been communicated. We will do our best to keep you informed as to any further changes which may impact you. Please visit www.ubs.com/newchapter for more information.

Any changes in your Sales coverage should already have been communicated to you and we do not anticipate further changes. However, if you are unable to contact your usual representative, please email ib-ncl-pbm@ubs.com and we will provide further assistance.

Although the majority of Credit Suisse AG agreements and related positions / transactions have been transferred to UBS AG automatically following the completion of the PBM by operation of law (in other words, by the principle of universal succession), they have done so under their existing terms and agreements. As such, there is no automatic conversion of positions and trading agreements to UBS AG terms, nor consolidation with any existing UBS AG trading agreements at this stage. Existing trading and margin legal documentation remain operational until such time as they are consolidated (where possible and applicable).

In particular, the above description applies to any general terms of business or general conditions (or other equivalent or similar document) (“Business Terms/Conditions”) issued by Credit Suisse AG (or by any branch). Respective Business Terms/Conditions of UBS AG (or its branch) did not automatically apply as a result of the legal merger to clients who traded with Credit Suisse AG under those Business Terms/Conditions relating to Credit Suisse AG (and these terms/conditions may differ from those that are in place with UBS AG). Please contact your Sales representative if you have further questions on terms of business or general conditions.

Collateral management agreements with (i) Credit Suisse AG (or a branch), (ii) a third party custodian/collateral manager, (and (iii) where applicable, a further party such as a depositary of the assets) to support an underlying trading agreement between yourself and Credit Suisse AG (or its branch), that collateral management agreement, whether tripartite or between four parties, have as a result of universal succession, automatically transferred upon completion of the PBM from Credit Suisse AG (or a branch) to UBS AG (or a branch). Pre-merger notifications were issued separately to the other contracting parties to these collateral management agreements so that all parties have the same information regarding the impact of the completion of the PBM on those agreements. Collateral management agreements include but are not limited to, an account control agreement, triparty account control agreement, segregated account control agreement, collateral account control agreement, blocked account agreement, custodial undertaking under a master repurchase agreement, custodial undertaking under a master stock lending and borrowing agreement, custody agreement executed between a chargor or pledgor, a secured party and you, and each other equivalent or similar agreement (howsoever named).

Now that the PBM is completed, your positions and agreements referred to in the above two questions have been transferred from Credit Suisse AG (or its branch) to UBS AG (or its branch in the same location as the branch of Credit Suisse AG) unless we advise you otherwise. In terms of any address and contact details in the legal notice provisions in your agreements, where you were a client or a trading counterparty of Credit Suisse AG, these remain the same for the replacement UBS AG entity or branch, unless we advise you otherwise. The custodian/collateral manager has been advised separately should any legal notice address and contact details for UBS AG (or its branch in the same location as the branch of Credit Suisse AG) have changed following the completion of the PBM.

As a general rule no, although there may be exceptions but please note this would be activity booked into the legacy Credit Suisse AG infrastructure, not existing UBS infrastructure. Should you be interested in onboarding with UBS AG, including entering into a new trading agreement to commence trading via this entity, please contact your usual Sales representative.

If you are already onboarded to trade with UBS AG, please contact your usual Sales representative to discuss. Certain conditions may apply.

If you are not yet set up to trade with UBS AG, additional onboarding steps may be required. Please raise any such request with your usual Sales representative.

Should you want to restructure or unwind a position, please contact your usual Sales representative.

Now that the PBM is completed, these notes have legally become UBS AG issuance. As such, all rights and obligations of Credit Suisse AG in connection with its structured products have been transferred to UBS AG and the respective branches. Given this, final terms or pricing supplements will not be updated. Any changes required to investor documentation will be updated in due course. Should you have any further queries, please contact your usual Sales representative detailing which product and notes series you are referring to.

Now that the PBM is completed, UBS AG (as the surviving entity) has by operation of law replaced Credit Suisse AG as lender of record. Please speak with your usual representative should you have any questions about a specific loan facility.

Now that the PBM is completed, UBS AG (as the surviving entity) has by operation of law replaced Credit Suisse AG as administrative agent; the administration of your loan facility will continue uninterrupted through to maturity of the loan facility in accordance with existing loan documentation. In the event there are any changes to administrative details, UBS will communicate such changes to you in advance.

Now that the PBM is completed, UBS AG (as the surviving entity) has by operation of law replaced Credit Suisse AG as security/collateral agent, and UBS AG has succeeded to the security interests granted to Credit Suisse AG. There may be certain instances where actions are required to maintain UBS AG’s security interests in collateral. In such instances, UBS will be in touch in due course.

Now that the PBM is completed, UBS AG (as the surviving entity) has by operation of law become the letter of credit issuer with respect to letters of credit issued by Credit Suisse AG, and will continue to honor such letters of credit in accordance with their terms.

Now that the PBM is completed, UBS AG (as the surviving entity) has replaced Credit Suisse AG as the lender of record with respect to loans made by Credit Suisse AG. Please speak with your usual representative should you have any questions about a specific loan facility.

Any UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG platforms in place prior to the completion of the PBM continue to operate in parallel in the immediate period post completion. We will notify you of any further changes in due course.

Clients previously onboarded to Credit Suisse AG who have become clients of UBS AG via the PBM will not have automatic access to the platform.

If you wish to transact with UBS AG, you will need to go through standard onboarding procedures. Please contact your usual Sales representative to discuss.

Following the completion of the PBM, Credit Suisse AG, as a legal entity, ceased to exist and the LEI for Credit Suisse AG has been replaced with that of UBS AG (BFM8T61CT2L1QCEMIK50).

Your Sales contact at UBS AG will take all necessary internal steps so that transaction activity can continue. In some cases, this might require a review of credit lines. Please contact your usual Sales representative should you wish to discuss.

Given the acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG by UBS Group AG was completed in June 2023 by way of a statutory merger, your positions at UBS AG and Credit Suisse AG should be aggregated to consider concentration risk at the overall Group level. We recommend that you consult with your internal risk management teams to review your risk exposure.

Not immediately. The operational integration will take place on a different timescale to the legal merger: this will occur over time and will likely be business and product specific. Businesses which were previously conducted out of Credit Suisse AG will continue to have separate operational processes until any such operational integration has been completed.

No. Please reach out to your legacy Credit Suisse AG contacts for any operational questions including lifecycle events, tax enquiries, collateral calls, settlement instructions or corporate action changes.

No. The valuation methodology of your trades should not have changed as a result of the PBM since your trades will initially remain on the same infrastructure.

The format and the structure of your report should remain broadly unchanged although the legal entity name has now changed from Credit Suisse AG to UBS AG and we shall ensure reports comply with UBS policy.

The format and the structure of your report should remain substantially the same; however, the legal entity name has now changed from Credit Suisse AG to UBS AG.

For certain legacy Credit Suisse AG accounts denominated in EUR, GBP, SGD, HKD, CNY and JPY, UBS has become the nostro agent and resulting changes to your standard settlement instructions (“SSIs”) should already have been communicated to you. Any USD changes will be communicated soon now that the PBM is completed.

While the beneficiary name changed from Credit Suisse AG to UBS AG (formerly Credit Suisse AG) following the completion of the PBM, in most instances the existing SWIFT business identifier codes (“BICs”) for Credit Suisse AG branches continue to be used unless we advise you otherwise.

Yes, confirmations may still come from Credit Suisse email addresses / domains, although for certain trades you may receive an equivalent confirmation delivered from a UBS email address. The form of the confirmation, however, should not substantially change.

Yes. Now that the PBM is completed, the LEI on your reports will need to change as the LEI for Credit Suisse AG (ANGGYXNX0JLX3X63JN86) was replaced with that of UBS AG (BFM8T61CT2L1QCEMIK50).

All new reports should be produced using the UBS AG LEI. Treatment of existing open positions vary by jurisdiction. We would recommend that you discuss this with the trade repository to whom you report.

As part of the PBM, future trades with some former Credit Suisse AG businesses will use the MiFID Systematic Internalizer (“SI”) status of their successor UBS AG entity. When your trade reference data automatically updates and relevant trades are recognized as being with the successor UBS AG entity, normal market data protocols on SI status will apply.

With the completion of the PBM, copies of the required W-8Ben-E “FATCA Only” forms and CRS Forms can be found on a FATCA / CRS Form distribution website and the link will be provided here in due course.

Yes. As long as your trading positions continue to sit within two sets of infrastructure, you will continue to have two sets of contacts.

Please continue to contact your existing collateral manager for any “business as usual” margin call activity.

Yes. To the extent that prior to completion of the PBM you had separate trading agreements with each entity, such trading agreements continue to be separate and you will therefore continue to receive separate margin calls.

To the extent that prior to the completion of the PBM you had separate trading agreements with each entity, such trading agreements continue to be separate and you will therefore continue to receive separate margin payments.

Initial Margin thresholds are calculated at a Group level; since completion of UBS Group AG’s acquisition of Credit Suisse Group AG on 12 June 2023 by way of a statutory merger, the total threshold has been applied across the new combined Group. Since then, we have been working with counterparties to consolidate these thresholds. If you have not already been contacted, please email sh-umr_clientqueries@ubs.com.

There will be no changes to the Acadiasoft message electronic IDs (i.e., AMP id).

Yes. At this point the two entities have only legally, rather than operationally, merged and we will continue to maintain separate cash and securities accounts, and therefore separate SSIs.

The management of lifecycle events impacting your transactions does not change following the completion of the PBM. Your Sales representative will be able to answer any questions pertaining to lifecycle events you may have.

If you receive documents in the name of Credit Suisse AG (or its branches) following the completion of the PBM, the automatic legal transfer means that any such document should be interpreted as referring to UBS AG (or the relevant branch) instead.