Shortly following the start of the session, the Austrian leading index ATX was at 3041.00 points, 2.68 percent below Friday’s close (3124.59). The domestic bank stocks had to accept significant discounts in early trading. The Erste Group share slipped by 5.2 percent, that of Bawag by almost six percent. At Raiffeisen Bank International it went down by around five percent.
After weak indications from the Asian markets (the Japanese Nikkei-225 closed at minus 1.42 percent), the entire European environment started the week with price losses. The leading index Euro-Stoxx-50 fell in early trading by 1.26 percent to 4013.95 points. The European industry index Euro Stoxx Banks fell by 4.7 percent in the morning. Credit Suisse securities fell 62 percent at the start of trading.
As it became known late Sunday evening, the badly hit Swiss bank Credit Suisse will be taken over by the larger local rival UBS. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is supporting the takeover with liquidity assistance of CHF 100 billion to both banks. In addition, six large central banks are increasing their rate of supplying the financial system with dollar liquidity.
more on the subject
Business Pure drama in Switzerland: UBS takes over crisis bank Credit Suisse
