UBS to impose restrictions on Credit Suisse bankers after takeover complete: FT

UBS is set to impose tight restrictions on Credit Suisse bankers, including a ban on new clients from high-risk countries and on complex financial products, the Financial Times (FT) said on Sunday (Jun 11), citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Bloomberg News reported on Saturday that the emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS will close on Monday.

UBS has come up with a list of nearly two dozen “red lines” that prohibit Credit Suisse staff from a range of activities, which include taking on clients from countries such as Libya, Russia, Sudan and Venezuela and launching new products without approval from UBS managers, the FT report added.

Ukrainian politicians and state-owned enterprises will also be blocked to prevent potential money laundering, the report said.

The Swiss government agreed on Friday to guarantee up to 9 billion Swiss francs (S$13.39 billion) of losses UBS may incur from the sale of its rival’s assets beyond 5 billion francs the lender is due to cover itself.

Credit Suisse declined to comment, while UBS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. REUTERS