© Reuters. Institutional shareholders weigh legal action against Credit Suisse sale
Geneva, March 20 (.).- A group of institutional shareholders, in particular pension funds in Switzerland, are evaluating the possibility of filing a legal action against the sale of Swiss credit (SIX:) to UBS bank (SIX:) for 60% less than its market value.
“We will examine all options in the coming days, including the legal one, to establish who is responsible for this debacle,” said the Ethos Foundation, made up of Swiss pension funds and other institutional investors who have interests in both establishments.
According to the entity, the sale of Credit Suisse is a “huge waste” for shareholders and for the Swiss economy as a whole, and, in this case, pension funds are “doubly penalized” for this transaction.
This is due to a last-minute modification approved by the Government so that the shareholders of Credit Suisse and UBS cannot vote on the operation through which the latter bank will absorb in the coming weeks or months – the time it takes to receive final approval of the different regulatory bodies – to the first.
In a statement, the Ethos Foundation warns that a second problem that both Swiss pension funds and private clientele in general will face has to do with the dominant position that UBS will undoubtedly have in the Swiss banking market.
As a solution, he proposes that the strategy be changed and that its business division in Switzerland be separated from Credit Suisse and that it be listed on the stock market.
This idea would make it possible to preserve thousands of jobs that are now in danger and maintain a healthy competitive environment for the national economy, according to the foundation.