Credit Suisse Takeover Hands Swiss Business a Big Headache

UBS Group AG’s emergency buyout of Credit Suisse Group AG threatens to drastically shrink the financing options for small and mid-sized companies, after the demise of a 166-year-old champion of Swiss entrepreneurship.

While smaller cantonal lenders and cooperative banks offer a counterbalance to UBS in retail banking and the Swiss mortgage market, Credit Suisse has long been the market leader in serving companies’ more complex needs.

That makes the profitable Swiss unit a prized possession for UBS, with chairman Colm Kelleher saying during the announcement of the $3 billion deal on Sunday that he was determined to hang on ...