June 12 () –
Singular Bank has warned that it will take “all necessary legal actions” against UBS in the event that the Swiss bank does not comply with the non-competition agreement it signed last year after selling its private banking business in Spain to it.
“If the breach of UBS’s contractual obligations and duties is confirmed, Singular Bank will take all necessary legal actions and will initiate the corresponding claims to comply with said commitments and obligations,” a Singular Bank spokesperson said in statements to Europe Press.
This Monday, UBS has completed the acquisition of Credit Suisse, which means that the bank re-enters ‘de facto’ the private banking business in Spain, despite the fact that for the moment all Credit Suisse activities will continue to operate under its brand own.
After announcing the rescue of Credit Suisse, the fate of the business in Spain had been left in uncertainty due to the non-competition agreement that UBS has with Singular Bank, to whom it sold its private banking business for 200 million euros.
The Swiss bank tackled this uncertainty on June 1, when it publicly stated that it intends to keep Credit Suisse’s wealth management business in Spain. In addition, UBS highlighted that it is a “consolidated, solid and profitable” business.
According to financial sources, it is to be expected that a legal battle between the two financial firms will begin due to the clash of both positions. Other sources close to UBS say the bank is convinced that the integration of Credit Suisse’s private banking business falls outside of this non-compete agreement and that it is in line with its regulatory and contractual obligations.
“The legal situation is clear and, as is to be expected from an entity of UBS’s reputation, Singular Bank is confident that UBS will honor the non-competition obligations assumed in a transaction such as the one that has been carried out,” Singular said. Bank to Europa Press.
This is one of the first public positions that Singular Bank has made since the Credit Suisse rescue was known. Previously, the bank’s only position was that of its CEO, Javier Marín, who stated in an interview with the newspaper ‘Expansión’ that a non-competition agreement had been signed, regardless of whether the causes were natural or unforeseen.
