UBS could close its acquisition of Credit Suisse as early as June 12, the bank said Monday.
However, executives are considering delaying the publication of the bank’s second-quarter results until the end of August, the Financial Times reported Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
UBS is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings July 25, but the August time frame might allow the bank to give a clearer update to investors on plans for Credit Suisse’s domestic business, according to the Financial Times.
Though the deal has been signed off by the European Union’s competition authorities, the details of Swiss government support are pending, people involved in the planning told the Financial Times.
The UBS finance team is working to combine the accounting systems of the two banks, but UBS follows International Financial Reporting Standards, while Credit Suisse prefers the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, the outlet reported.
Companies using the IFRS are required to publish their interim results within 60 days after the reporting period. A late-August earnings call would be at the end of that window.
Meanwhile, UBS’s reappointed CEO, Sergio Ermotti, warned Friday of “painful” job cuts following the takeover, Reuters reported.
“Hopefully in the next few days it's going to be done," Ermotti said Friday at an event organized by the Asset Management Association Switzerland in Bern. "We are finalizing the last the last few miles ... we have more than 170 approvals from regulators.”
Ermotti has emphasized that Swiss taxpayers are “exceptionally unlikely” to suffer any losses owing to the takeover. He also sought to dismiss fears that the size of the combined entity would be a problem for Switzerland, Reuters noted.
The UBS-Credit Suisse combination would have a $1.6 trillion balance sheet — roughly double that of its home country, Reuters reported.
The hastily arranged government-orchestrated $3.25 billion all-share deal in March fueled controversy and attracted criticism within Switzerland. Shortly after the deal was announced, a poll showed three-quarters of voters were in favor of splitting the megabank.
"We won't be able to create, short term, job opportunities for everybody. Synergies is part of the story," Ermotti said Friday. "We need to take a serious look at the cost base of the standalone and combined organisations and create a sustainable outcome.
"It will be painful," Ermotti added.
