Share prices of Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, tumbled Monday in the wake of the Sunday-announced rescue deal for Credit Suisse.
USB sustained losses of more than 10 percent in early trading, as investors processed the acquisition, initially said to be worth three billion Swiss francs ($3.2 billion).
Twitter screenshot featuring sliding UBS shares after Credit Suisse rescue deal.
© Photo : Twitter
One of the reasons why shares in UBS were down on March 20 was that as part of the Credit Suisse bailout, the Swiss regulator Finma, had written down the value of about 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.3 billion) worth of what are called Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds to zero.
Also dubbed contingent convertible bonds or CoCos, these risky European bank bonds were a key funding source for the continent's finance institutions, analysts are cited as saying.
The fact is, the status of CoCos can be changed if a bank’s capital levels fall below a specified level. They can either be converted into equity (bank shares), or written off, to prop up a bank's balance sheet. What happened in this case to AT1 bonds, introduced in Europe after the global financial crisis of 2008, is no surprise, as they were designed for such moments to effectively act as "shock absorbers" when banks fail, experts clarified.
'Emergency Rescue'
Amid fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, and the toppling of Signature Bank and crypto-oriented Silvergate shortly thereafter, Credit Suisse’s share price plunged nearly 30 percent on March 15. As concerns were triggered about a liquidity crunch, UBS offered to buy the beleaguered Zurich-based bank.
On March 19, the Swiss National Bank announced the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, adding that it would provide necessary assistance for the deal.
"UBS plans to acquire Credit Suisse ... Under the terms of the all-share transaction, Credit Suisse shareholders will receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held, equivalent to CHF 0.76/share for a total consideration of CHF 3 billion," UBS said in a statement.
UBS chairman, Colm Kelleher, hailed the the acquisition as “attractive” for UBS shareholders, but added that “as far as Credit Suisse is concerned, this is an emergency rescue.”
“We have structured a transaction which will preserve the value left in the business while limiting our downside exposure,” he added in a statement. “Acquiring Credit Suisse’s capabilities in wealth, asset management and Swiss universal banking will augment UBS’s strategy of growing its capital-light businesses,” Kelleher said.
Between March 8-10, Silicon Valley Bank failed with breakneck speed, collapsing within 48 hours after a bank run triggered by an announcement that it would be raising fresh capital to come up with cash to float operations. A range of factors have been faulted for the bank’s failure, ranging from incompetence of senior officials, to the US Federal Reserve’s unprecedented series of interest rate hikes in recent months.
Amid the banking turmoil, a group of central banks announced concerted measures to ensure the steady flow of dollars across the global financial system on March 20. A new frequency for the US dollar liquidity "swap line" arrangement has been announced, set to remain in place "at least through the end of April." Seven-day maturity operations which aid foreign banks in receiving access to US dollar financing will be held daily, instead of on a weekly basis.
According to a joint statement by the US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank, the move is a "coordinated action to enhance the provision of liquidity.”