LONDON, June 7 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UBS (UBSG.S) and the Swiss government have negotiated a state backstop that neither side wants to use.
The scheme, designed to sweeten the Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) rescue, would see the government cover $10 billion of losses on former Credit Suisse assets after UBS swallows the first $6 billion.
One option could be for the state to guarantee only a limited subset of former Credit Suisse assets – just the ones that UBS plans to get rid of, for example, like fixed-income derivatives.
The government could also insist on dividend or buyback restrictions if the Swiss bank ever taps the scheme.
The guarantee would only kick in after UBS has swallowed 5 billion Swiss francs ($6 billion) of losses.
Persons:
Sergio Ermotti, Karin Keller, Sutter, Ermotti, that’s, ”, Neil Unmack, Oliver Taslic
Organizations:
Reuters, UBS, Swiss, bank’s, Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s Social, –, RBC, AG, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Thomson
Locations:
Swiss