Credit Suisse survived 167 years — and was sold in a weekend to UBS for $3.3B

Credit Suisse, founded in 1856, was one of the world's oldest and most prestigious banks. But by 2023, the bank had been weakened by a series of scandals: the Greensill supply finance collapse ($10B in client losses), the Archegos margin call ($5.5B loss), a spying scandal involving its own executives, and repeated regulatory fines.

The bank's stock had fallen over 80% from its 2021 peak, and depositors were withdrawing funds. When SVB collapsed in the US on March 10, 2023, the contagion spread to Credit Suisse. The bank's largest shareholder, Saudi National Bank, publicly stated it would not provide more capital, triggering a final crisis of confidence.

On March 19, 2023, the Swiss government brokered an emergency acquisition: UBS bought Credit Suisse for $3.3 billion — a fraction of its former $100B+ market capitalization. The deal was arranged over a weekend to prevent a Monday market panic. The case illustrated how a series of scandals can erode a bank's reputation to the point where a single external shock (SVB) becomes fatal.