According to a media report, the Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) could still demand conditions from UBS during the takeover of Credit Suisse. The competition authorities are currently examining the takeover and conducting hearings.
This was confirmed by a Comco spokesman to the AWP news agency on Monday on request. The Handelzeitung newspaper had previously reported on it online. “We will send our statement to Finma at the end of September,” announced Comco director Patrik Ducrey. Ducrey did not want to say anything about whether and, if so, what conditions Comco will recommend to Finma.
“But it would be surprising if the cartel guardians would wave the monster takeover through without any suggestions for correction,” the article says. Another question is whether the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) takes up the concerns of Comco.
So far there have been no conditions despite it being a merger of giants. The Swiss competition authority had nothing to say about the emergency takeover of what was once the second-largest Swiss bank by the even larger UBS, which was announced in March and completed in June. In cases where financial stability is at stake, Finma can approve a merger without the intervention of Comco.