Dear insured, dear affiliated companies, dear partners,
We hope that our message finds you well.
As you learned late Sunday 19.03.2023, following the intervention of the Federal Department of Finance, the Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Credit Suisse and UBS have reached a merger agreement, with UBS as the surviving entity.
As Credit Suisse (Suisse) AG is the custodian bank of our Foundation, we feel it is important to inform you of the following:
- We have been in close contact with Credit Suisse (Suisse) SA since Monday morning.
- We can therefore inform you that, until the completion of the merger, which is subject to the usual closing conditions, Credit Suisse will continue its operational activities in the usual way and client services should not be disrupted in any way.
- In addition, the Swiss National Bank will provide Credit Suisse with facilities that will provide substantial additional liquidity.
- The liquidity we hold in Credit Suisse, which could have been at risk in the event of bankruptcy, is now fully secured as part of the transaction with UBS.
- We pay particular attention to the key people at our custodian bank, with whom we have built a relationship of trust and who support our Foundation in its operational activities.
The collective investment vehicles held by our Foundation and deposited with Credit Suisse (Suisse) SA are not affected by this merger. They belong entirely to the Foundation and are not carried on the balance sheet of our various partner banks.
It is important for us to know that our exposure to Credit Suisse and UBS shares is as follows:
- Exposure to Credit Suisse is limited to 0.01% (indicative value with status as of March 15, 2023) of the Foundation’s total assets.
This is a very small position (0.28 million) in the Vontobel Swiss Equity Multi factor fund. - The exposure to UBS shares amounts to 0.48% of the Foundation’s total assets.
This includes a position of 24.3 million in the CSIF Equity CH ES Blue ZB fund and a position of 0.97 million in the Vontobel Vescore Swiss Equity Multi factor fund.
We will of course continue to monitor the progress of this merger agreement and will not hesitate to take appropriate measures, if necessary, for the benefit of our Foundation.
If measures are taken, we will inform you accordingly without delay.
We remain at your disposal for any further information.
With our best wishes.
The Pension Fund Collective – COPRÉ