(Bloomberg) For the past two decades, Credit Suisse Group AG dominated the business of arranging Swiss franc bond sales. Its sudden collapse presents an opportunity for the likes of Deutsche Bank AG and BNP Paribas SA in a market that saw $59 billion in deals last year. Some of the business will probably be picked up by acquirer UBS Group AG, but given that they already arrange a quarter of so-called Swissie sales and because it’s not clear what the debt sales business will look like in the merged bank there may be an opening for others. Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank AG and BNP Paribas, which are already active in the Swissie market, are likely to compete for international issuance, people familiar with the matter said. Regional lenders such as Raiffeisen Schweiz and Zürcher Kantonalbank will probably pick up some of the domestic issuance, the people added. A spokesperson for Zürcher Kantonalbank said in an email that the bank expects to consolidate its position in the business
(Bloomberg) Credit Suisse Group AG’s top executives in Switzerland sought to reassure local clients over worries stemming from the takeover by UBS Group AG, and underlined the importance that the domestic business has for the new combined bank. The Swiss bank held a 45-minute webcast at 8.a.m local time on Tuesday, hosted by Andre Helfenstein, chief executive of the Swiss business, and Roger Suter, head of private banking Switzerland. The executives apologized to clients who’d had difficulty joining the webcast due to capacity constraints. “We would encourage you to keep your accounts with us; you know us and our service,” Helfenstein said, as he addressed concerns about other banks luring clients. “Competition never sleeps, which is a good thing.” Earlier this month UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs ($3.3 billion) in a deal brokered by the Swiss government, after the historic lender saw a collapse in confidence after years of management missteps and sc