<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Switzerland's biggest bank, UBS, is reported to be in advanced talks to buy all or part of its troubled rival Credit Suisse.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shares in Credit Suisse have fallen sharply in recent days after it said it had found "material weakness" in its financial reporting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An emergency $54bn (£44.5bn) lifeline from the Swiss National Bank has not resolved the issue.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regulators are trying to facilitate a deal before markets reopen on Monday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are concerns that Credit Suisse shares could continue to plummet, after they fell 24% on Wednesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This prompted a general sell-off on European markets, and fears of a wider financial crisis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Swiss government held an emergency meeting on Saturday night, but so far there has been no official statement on the progress of the negotiations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UBS is said to have asked the Swiss government to cover about $6bn (£4.9bn) in costs if it were to buy Credit Suisse, according to sources quoted by Reuters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Any deal may also result in significant job losses.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problems have coincided with the failure of two lenders in the US - Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank - raising fears over the health of the banking system.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Credit Suisse, which was founded in 1856, has faced a string of scandals in recent years, including money laundering charges.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bank reported a loss of 7.3bn Swiss francs ($7.9bn; £6.5bn) in 2022 - its worst year since the financial crisis of 2008 - and has warned it does not expect to be profitable until 2024.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UBS however made a profit of $7.6bn in 2022. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>