Switzerland

UBS on Thursday won unconditional EU antitrust approval to acquire Credit Suisse as part of a government-orchestrated rescue of its Swiss rival, Reuters reported. The European Commission said the deal would not raise competition concerns in Europe, confirming a Reuters story earlier this month. "The combined entity will continue facing significant competitive pressure from a wide range of competitors in all of those markets, including several major global banks as well as specialist providers and strong local players," the EU competition watchdog said in a statement.

UBS Group AG said on Tuesday it was in negotiations with Swiss authorities about loss protections related to its takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG and its regulatory capital requirements, Reuters reported. The disclosure underscores how some aspects of the tie-up between the two banks, arranged hastily over a weekend in mid-March by the Swiss government to stave off a broader banking crisis, have yet to be ironed out.

A derivatives committee ruled on Monday that a bankruptcy credit event had not occurred in relation to Credit Suisse, quashing investors' efforts to trigger a payout on credit insurance linked to the Swiss lender, Reuters reported. The ruling was in response to an investor question about $17 billion in senior and subordinated bonds issued by Credit Suisse, whose holders were wiped out when the Swiss bank was taken over by UBS in March in a state-assisted deal. The ruling upended a long-established practice of giving bondholders priority over shareholders in a debt recovery.