UBS says it has completed the takeover of stricken rival Credit Suisse

Swiss bank UBS on Monday said that it formally completed the takeover of its rival Credit Suisse.

In an open letter, UBS board chair Colm Kelleher and newly-returned CEO Sergio Ermotti said, “We will bring together the collective expertise, scale and wealth management leadership of both UBS and Credit Suisse to create an even stronger combined firm.”

The letter continues that there will be “challenges” as well as “great opportunity,” as the bank commits to “never compromise on UBS’s strong culture, conservative risk approach or quality service.”

UBS agreed to the $3.2 billion deal in March, with Swiss regulators playing a key role in the acquisition amid worries that severe losses at Credit Suisse would destabilize the banking system.

The enlarged UBS will have a balance sheet of $1.6 trillion and a workforce of 120,000.

Regulators said Friday that they would cover losses of up to 9 billion Swiss francs ($10 billion) after UBS incurs the first 5 billion Swiss francs as part of the transaction, as it absorbs a portfolio that does not entirely “fit its business and risk profile.”

Following the merger, Credit Suisse and its American Depositary Shares will be delisted from the SIX Swiss Exchange and New York Stock Exchange, with shareholders receiving one UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares held.

The takeover, which follows multiple scandals and years of share price decline at Credit Suisse, controversially wiped out the 16 billion Swiss francs ($17 billion) worth of assets of the bank’s AT1 bond holders.