Credit Suisse could make substantial losses in H2 - UBS Vice-Chairman

ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS's Vice-Chairman said on Tuesday it was possible that Credit Suisse could generate further losses in the second half of the year but voiced confidence its takeover would benefit his bank in the longer run.

"It cannot be ruled out that Credit Suisse will also make substantial losses in the second half of the year," Lukas Gaehwiler said while speaking at the Finance Forum in Zurich.

But he also said it was too early to know whether the takeover of Credit Suisse will be a good or a very good deal for UBS.

The biggest bank deal since the global financial crisis was hastily arranged in March by Swiss authorities to avert Credit Suisse's collapse.

Alongside its second quarter results published last month, UBS also announced it was absorbing Credit Suisse's domestic business, a contested decision in Switzerland.

Gaehwiler said he could understand why a majority would have preferred to have an independent Credit Suisse in Switzerland, but was not sure if the country's regulator, FINMA, would have agreed with that.

Gaehwiler said he expected to stay in his current position until the integration, which he previously described as a "Herculean task," has been completed.

UBS's Chief Executive, Sergio Ermotti, said last week he too plans to stay at the bank's helm through 2026.

(Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)