we ll have a special report. hello, very warm welcome to the programme. the financial times is reporting that ubs switzerland s biggest bank has agreed to buy credit suisse for more than two billion dollars. there s been no confirmation yet of whether the offer has been accepted. it s thought an earlier offer of $1 billion was considered too low. the swiss banking giant had been caught up in the market uncertainty triggered by the collapse, nine days ago, of america s silicon valley bank. it had been offered an emergency credit facility of more than $50 billion by switzerland s central bank, but that had not prevented a sharp fall in its share price. our business correspondent marc ashdownjoins me. we spoke a little earlier. it s not offering to billion. offering to billion. they have aareed offering to billion. they have agreed that offering to billion. they have agreed that figure. offering to billion. they have agreed that figure. it s - offering to billion. they
we ll have a special report. hello, very warm welcome to the programme. the financial times is reporting that ubs switzerland s biggest bank has agreed to buy credit suisse for more than two billion dollars. there s been no confirmation yet of whether the offer has been accepted. it s thought an earlier offer of $1 billion was considered too low. the swiss banking giant had been caught up in the market uncertainty triggered by the collapse, nine days ago, of america s silicon valley bank. it had been offered an emergency
the silicon valley bank issues but really stems from them reporting they found material weaknesses in their financial reporting. that led to competence and money pouring away from the bank. it was reported that ubs tabled an offer of1 billion us dollars. the closing price already down 90% from when it was on its peak. it felt very much a lowball offer. looks like there have been negotiations going on. also around the shape of any takeover, credit suisse has 95 banks in switzerland, domestic, and also investment around the world. it s most likely the whole thing would be restructured. but would that mean for the 15,000 employees globally? really difficult time for their futures as well. find
were speaking, the offer from just to reiterate, when chris and i were speaking, the offerfrom ubs was to buy credit suisse for 1 billion us dollars. it s been reported by the financial times that the offer has been increased to 2 billion us dollars. we expect some sort of press conference from the swiss government and those involved within the coming hours. we ve been given no firm indication of what time, but we will of course bring that to you and any significant developments as we get them right here on bbc news. the russian president, vladimir putin, has visited the ukrainian city of mariupol. it s the first time he s ventured inside territory seized by russian forces since last year s invasion. his visit under the cover of darkness has been fiercely criticised by the exiled council of the southern port city, which has seen some of the fiercest battles of the war. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports from the capital, kyiv. vladimir putin arrived in mariupol by hel
this is bbc news. welcome if you re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i m ben boulos. our top stories. the future of switzerland s second largest bank credit suisse hangs in the balance but the financial times reports the rival ubs buys the company for more than $2 billion. ukraine condemns vladimir putin s visit to mariupol a devastated city which was captured by russian forces. serbia s president has declined to sign an eu proposal to normalise relations with kosovo. and a charity helping british muslims with financial problems says it s overwhelmed by demand.