Gold bars, caps and bags from Credit Suisse begin to appear in online stores

London () — Caps, bags and even gold bars bearing the Credit Suisse logo began trading on resale websites just hours after the 167-year-old bank received a lifeline from rival UBS to weather collapse.

The emergency acquisition, which was mediated by the Swiss government, will mean the end of a bank that was born in 1856 as the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, with the aim of financing the expansion of the railway network and the industrialization of Switzerland.

UBS has said it will make big cuts in investment banking at Credit Suisse, but it is not yet clear if it will retire the brand entirely once the deal is completed later this year.

Some buyers won’t wait to find out, already engaging in fierce bidding wars paying for products that could soon become historic artifacts.

At least 46 people placed offers on Tuesday to buy a blue and red Credit Suisse ski hat, priced at 111 Swiss francs ($120) on the Swiss online marketplace. Ricado.ch.

A vendor has listed a black cap, emblazoned with “Credit Suisse Risk Management Intern 2023,” for 35 Swiss francs ($38) on the online thrift market. tutti.ch.

Vintage Credit Suisse stamps, notebooks and watches are also for sale. A tiny gold bar 10-gram, engraved with the bank’s logo, currently sells for 661 Swiss francs ($715) on Ricardo.ch.

A gold bar bearing the Credit Suisse logo has surfaced on second-hand sales websites just hours after the 167-year-old bank was acquired by rival UBS. (Credit: Ricardo.ch)

UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, said Sunday it would buy its smaller rival for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion).

Credit Suisse shares plunged last week as investors and customers withdrew their money from the bank. Emergency aid from the Swiss National Bank was not enough to stem the crisis of confidence, but allowed Credit Suisse to slog through the weekend.

In recent years, the bank has been plagued by a series of scandals and compliance issues that have damaged its reputation.