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Nearly every finance industry body in Guernsey has refused to comment on the situation facing Credit Suisse despite indications that the firm could cease to exist within a year.
The international bank is going through changes after major investors backed off, and a merger with UBS was announced on Sunday.
It was Credit Suisse which called it a merger, while the statement issued by UBS said it is buying the bank.
The Union Bank of Switzerland also said that it will be the "surviving entity" once the process is concluded, with "confidence that the employment of the staff of Credit Suisse will be continued".
Pictured: Credit Suisse may have called it a merger, but UBS called it an acquisition.
Credit Suisse employs more than 45,000 people globally, including up to 160 in Guernsey, compared to more than 70,000 employed by UBS, including around 150 people in Jersey.
The two firms offer broadly similar services across private banking and investments.
The Financial Times yesterday reported that "UBS’s rescue of Credit Suisse is expected to result in tens of thousands of job cuts" with "...more than 30,000 staff, are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts, according to people familiar with UBS’s plans".
Sources known to the FT said that up to a third of the combined UBS and Credit Suisse workforce could be at risk.
Pictured: The Financial Times claims "tens of thousands of jobs" are at risk at Credit Suisse.
The merger of the two firms is expected to be completed during the second half of this year meaning potentially tens of job losses locally and thousands globally by the end of 2023.
The States said "we’re monitoring developments" in a brief response to a request for a comment regarding the situation from Express.
The Guernsey Financial Services Commission which regulates businesses in the island said it is liaising with Swiss and UK authorities over the standing of Credit Suisse.
The GFSC lists six Credit Suisse businesses as regulated entities in the island. It also links Credit Suisse with a number of other regulated entities in the island.
In a statement, the commission said: "The Guernsey Financial Services Commission supervises Credit Suisse AG, Guernsey Branch. The entity in the Bailiwick is a branch of Credit Suisse AG and as such it is helpful to refer you to the statements of FINMA and the Swiss National Bank of 15 March and 19 March. The Commission has been liaising closely, and continues to do so, with counterparts in Switzerland and the UK.
"Credit Suisse AG, Guernsey Branch is licensed under the Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 and under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020. The Commission also authorises Credit Suisse Investments PCC Limited as an authorised collective investment scheme and Credit Suisse Trust Limited and its secondary licensees under the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020."
Pictured: The Guernsey Financial Services Commission "has been liaising closely, and continues to do so, with counterparts in Switzerland and the UK".
Despite the risk to a firm with one of the longest history's in Guernsey's finance sector, none of the other industry bodies contacted by Express would comment.
We Are Guernsey - the promotional body for the island's finance sector - features both Credit Suisse (Channel Islands) Limited and Credit Suisse Trust Limited on its website. The Trust company is in the process of being sold to Butterfield. Butterfield did not respond when approached for comment last week, and We Are Guernsey said it would not comment.
The Guernsey International Insurance Association, the Guernsey Investment and Funds Association, the Guernsey Association of Trustees, the Guernsey Society of Chartered and Certified Accountants, and the Chamber of Commerce each said they would not comment at this stage.
The Association of Guernsey Banks and the Guernsey International Business Association did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.
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