UBS said on Wednesday it had completed the transfer of former Credit Suisse clients in Switzerland onto its own systems, marking a key step in the integration of the rival it acquired in a state-backed rescue in 2023.

The migration involved around 1.2 million clients globally, with chief executive Sergio Ermotti describing the move as a significant milestone in combining the two banks’ operations. He said the transfer strengthened UBS’s franchise and supported a broader and more seamless offering for customers, while acknowledging further work remained.

The transfer followed a 10-month effort involving more than 80,000 tests and 132,000 hours of staff training, highlighting the scale and complexity of the project. Sabine Keller-Busse, president of UBS Switzerland, said the domestic migration was the most complex part of the process because more than 90 per cent of affected clients were based in the country.

UBS will now enter the final phase of the integration, focusing on decommissioning legacy Credit Suisse IT infrastructure and systems. Chief financial officer Todd Tuckner said the step would generate substantial cost savings as the bank retires duplicate platforms and simplifies operations.

The integration stems from UBS’s takeover of Credit Suisse in March 2023, a government-engineered deal aimed at preventing the collapse of its rival and stabilising the Swiss financial system. The transaction created one of the largest global banking groups but left UBS with the challenge of combining extensive operations, reducing costs and unwinding legacy assets.

The milestone comes as UBS faces pressure from Swiss authorities over proposed increases to capital requirements linked to “too big to fail” rules. A government decision on the level of additional capital the bank must hold is expected as soon as April, while UBS has sought to moderate the proposals.

Bloomberg reported that UBS is preparing further job cuts linked to the next phase of integration, particularly as IT systems are shut down and operations consolidated. The bank has already indicated plans to reduce thousands of roles in Switzerland, while attempting to limit redundancies through redeployment and attrition.

Ermotti said the integration remained one of the most complex in banking history, adding that “there is still much to be done to complete the integration,” but that the completion of client migration laid the foundation for the final stages.

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