UBS Group AG

UBS absorbed rival Credit Suisse for CHF 3 billion (March 2023) in a state-brokered rescue, instantly creating a financial organism representing 200% of Swiss GDP - comparable to Irish bank guarantees that triggered sovereign crisis (2008). The $5 billion net profit (2024) and 58% progress toward $13 billion cost savings (by end-2026) demonstrate successful competitive exclusion: UBS eliminates a wounded rival while importing $1.6+ trillion in wealth management assets. This is horizontal gene transfer at civilizational scale - UBS acquired Credit Suisse's client relationships, trading platforms (merged May 2024), and Swiss retail operations (merged July 2024) that would take decades to build organically. Global wealth management revenues rose 6% YoY to $6.5 billion (Q3 2025), with $27 billion net new assets (Q1 2024). Trading division revenue jumped 20% annually (2024) to record $7.5 billion as Credit Suisse's fixed-income and equity platforms provided immediate scale. The integration completes end-2026, with most Swiss client migrations occurring 2025. UBS proves that in concentrated banking markets, acquisition of failing systemically-important rivals creates economies of scale (the merged entity serves 50%+ of Swiss wealth management) but concentration risk: the combined bank is too-big-to-fail at national scale, requiring permanent state backstop ($104B SNB liquidity, CHF 9B loss guarantee). With $1B share buybacks (2024) and planned $3B more (2025), plus dividend increases (29% to $0.90 in 2024, another 10% planned 2025), UBS demonstrates how apex predators absorb weakened competitors.