UBS pays bumper rates on deposits to repair Credit Suisse outflows

ZURICH – UBS is trying to attract customers with above-market rates on deposits, according to people familiar with the bank’s activities, as it seeks to boost inflows after taking over stricken peer Credit Suisse.

Clients who deposit their cash at Credit Suisse, now a unit of UBS, earn around 1.8 percent on upwards of 50,000 Swiss francs ($54,000) held for three months, according to one of the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the matter is private.

At Zuercher Kantonalbank, similar deposits with a minimum investment of 100,000 francs receive interest of 1.34 percent and at Raiffeisen they earn 1.2 percent, spokespeople for the two banks said.

“As is common in the market, there may be specifically tailored offers that can also depend on an overall client relationship,” Credit Suisse said in response to a request for comment.

UBS declined to comment on three-month deposit rates. For a one-year lockup, the bank offers a fixed rate of 1.75 percent as part of an ongoing campaign.

Credit Suisse suffered an exodus of client funds that brought it to the brink of collapse and led to the first ever merger of two globally systemically important banks.

READ: Credit Suisse offers higher deposit rates in Asia to woo the wealthy – sources

Regaining clients’ money and trust in Switzerland is crucial for UBS, which oversees $5.5 trillion in assets for wealthy clients since taking over its former rival. The bank also needs to try to retain clients that would have had funds in both banks and may now look to spread their risk.

Limiting outflows

Outflows from Credit Suisse’s wealth management franchise were identified as a key risk for UBS by JPMorgan analyst Kian Abouhossein in a note on Monday.

The analyst said higher deposit rates were potentially being used to limit outflows at Credit Suisse and had been weighing on the bank’s ability to bolster revenue.

Still, Abouhossein said there was potential for UBS to reclaim part of the almost $500 billion in deposits and assets that left Credit Suisse over the last two years.

READ: UBS shuffles bank bosses in bid to better compete with Wall Street

Credit Suisse reported net asset outflows of 39 billion francs in the second quarter. However, UBS said the outflows had slowed down and reversed in June, with Credit Suisse reporting net deposit inflows of $18 billion in the second quarter.

UBS’s chief executive Sergio Ermotti has said he aims to get back the Credit Suisse assets.

“Winning back is winning back and is resetting our starting moment, and then from there on we are going to look at our combined growth aspirations,” Ermotti said at a conference in September.