Bad for customers, good for UBS

Credit Suisse is definitely history as of this week. The bank was deleted from the commercial register of the canton of Zurich, and on paper CS no longer exists in Switzerland. UBS boss Sergio Ermotti has completed the legal merger of the Swiss companies of UBS and CS more quickly than planned.

With this merger, the demise of CS will now also have consequences for its customers: since Monday they have officially been customers of UBS, and the welcome letters are on the way. Only now – one and a half years after the emergency takeover – will the integration gradually have an impact on the everyday banking life of former CS customers.

The CS branches are still open, the CS website can be accessed, and accounts, loans and mortgages also continue to operate as normal. You can also still register for the CSX banking app. But the countdown to incorporation is on. Most customers will be migrated to UBS over the course of the next year. CSX will be closed at the end of 2025 and the service will be discontinued.

The UBS solution wins

After that, CS customers will have to find their way in the new UBS world. Specifically: Only UBS products with UBS conditions will be available. Superior offers such as the CSX app will be replaced by the UBS counterpart Key4. At the latest then, it will also be clear to CS customers: This is not a merger of equals, UBS dictates the offer. Everything that has “CS” in its name will disappear.

The principle is that it is not the best solution that wins, but the UBS solution. CSX users will inevitably have to get used to Key4. Key4 is just an uninspired extension of the UBS e-banking platform, it only offers access to a few standard UBS products. There is no separate app – it is e-banking like in the 2000s.

How Key4 in its current form is supposed to appeal to a younger, digitally savvy clientele remains a secret of the major bank. In any case, an innovative digital offering for the masses does not seem to be a priority for UBS Switzerland boss Sabine Keller-Busse at the moment.

In any case, it will be a good opportunity for CSX users to review UBS’s “value proposition” in the digital sector and, if necessary, look for a new provider.

In contrast to areas such as corporate financing, competition in digital banking services in Switzerland is intense and dynamic – also thanks to neobanks, which often offer more attractive offers from a private customer perspective than the established institutions.

Renegotiate relationship with UBS

CS customers may be at a disadvantage, but UBS’s approach is rational. Speed ​​is important for the success of the integration – Keller-Busse knows this too, and Ermotti is breathing down her neck. Because every day that two IT infrastructures are operated in parallel is one day too many and costs millions – wasted synergies. There is no time for a desirable “best of breed” approach, which involves selecting the best solution for the customer and then adopting it for the entire group.

In addition, UBS is unlikely to be interested in retaining all CS customers. Only those who are profitable, i.e. those with whom money can be made, are of interest. In this respect, it is unclear whether a cheap digital offer will even fit in. UBS has made it clear that it does not want to continue CS’s unprofitable business. This is why renegotiations with large customers are likely to be on the cards.

For CS customers – whether large, small or digital – it is therefore imperative that they renegotiate their relationship with their new bank in the coming months. Because, as in any relationship, it has to be right for both parties. If that is no longer the case, there is no way around drawing a line under it and looking for a new banking partner. Fortunately, there are enough of these in Switzerland.