Talks to rescue Credit Suisse continued on Sunday as UBS asked the Swiss government for $6 billion in costs if it buys the troubled financial institution, a person familiar with the talks said.

Authorities are trying to resolve a crisis of confidence at 167-year-old Credit Suisse, the world’s biggest bank, which was plunged into chaos by the collapse of US banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last week.

While regulators want to find a solution before markets reopen on Monday, one source warned that talks have faced significant hurdles and that 10,000 jobs could be cut if the two banks merge.

The collateral required by UBS will cover the costs of liquidating parts of Credit Suisse and potential legal costs, two of the people told Reuters.

Credit Suisse, UBS and the Swiss government declined to comment.

This weekend’s stormy talks followed a brutal week for banking stocks and efforts by Europe and the US to prop up the banking sector.

US President Joe Biden’s administration took steps to support consumer deposits, while Switzerland’s central bank lent about $50 billion to Credit Suisse to stabilize its balance sheet.

Swiss authorities have pressured UBS to buy Credit Suisse to contain the crisis, two people familiar with the situation said.

The plan could see Credit Suisse’s Swiss division split from the group.

Switzerland is preparing to take extraordinary measures to speed up the deal, the Financial Times reported, citing two people familiar with the situation.

U.S. authorities are involved, working with their Swiss counterparts to help broker the deal, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Meanwhile, billionaire Warren Buffett, the founder and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Group, held talks with senior Biden administration officials about the banking crisis, a source told Reuters.

The White House and the US Treasury declined to comment.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are also in regular talks this weekend over the fate of Credit Suisse, a source familiar with the matter said.

Spokesmen for the UK Treasury and the Bank of England’s Office of Prudential Regulation, which oversee banks, declined to comment.

Shares of Credit Suisse, a sharp fall in the market

Credit Suisse shares have lost a quarter of their value over the past week. The bank was forced to seek a $54 billion bailout from Switzerland’s central bank as it struggles to recover from a series of scandals that have undermined investor and customer confidence.

Credit Suisse is among the world’s largest wealth management companies and is considered one of the 30 global systemically important banks.

The collapse of any of these banks will spread throughout the world financial system.

More information has emerged about the parties interested in taking over Credit Suisse.

Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Bank was considering buying some of the Swiss bank’s assets, while American financial giant BlackRock denied reports that it would participate in a competitive bid to acquire the bank.

Percentage risk

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in California highlighted how the relentless campaign to raise interest rates by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks, including the European Central Bank, is putting pressure on the banking sector.

The collapse of SVB and Signature is the largest bank failure in US history since Washington Mutual closed during the 2008 global financial crisis.

First Citizens BancShares is evaluating a takeover bid for SVB, and at least one other suitor is seriously considering the offer, Bloomberg News reported Saturday.

Banking stocks have been hit worldwide since the SVB collapse, with the S&P Banks index falling 22%, its biggest two-week loss since the pandemic rocked markets in March 2020.

Major US banks provided $30 billion in bailouts to smaller bank First Republic. In recent days, US banks have requested a record $153 billion in emergency liquidity from the Federal Reserve.

A coalition of America’s mid-sized banks has asked regulators to extend federal insurance to all deposits over the next two years, Bloomberg News reported Saturday, citing a letter from the coalition.

In Washington, attention has turned to increased oversight of the financial sector to ensure that banks and their executives are held accountable.

Biden has called on Congress to give regulators more power over the banking sector, including imposing higher fines, clawbacks and banning officials from working at failed banks.

Rapid and dramatic events could mean big banks could expand, smaller banks struggle to keep up, and other regional lenders could close.

“People are actually moving their money around, all these banks are going to look fundamentally different three months, six months from now,” said Keith Noreika, vice president of Patomak Global Partners and a former Republican U.S. comptroller of the currency. (source: news.ro)