Update - Experts confirmed and deadline for edition extended

The Commercial Court in Zurich has confirmed Prof Dr Peter Leibfried and Roger Neininger as appraisers. They will be tasked with determining the going concern value of Credit Suisse as at 19 March 2023. At the same time, the court has extended the deadline for UBS to provide the requested documents to 29 August 2025.

Experts confirmed

By decision dated 8 July 2025, the Commercial Court of Zurich confirmed Prof Dr Peter Leibfried and Roger Neininger as co-experts. The court rejected the objections raised by various parties, in particular UBS, against these two experts.

UBS had questioned not only the professional qualifications of the two experts, but also their independence. Specifically, both Prof Leibfried and Mr Neininger were too closely associated with KPMG: Prof Leibfried because his chair at the University of St. Gallen is financially supported by KPMG, and Mr Neininger because he can look back on a 35-year career at KMPG. For its part, KPMG was the auditor of Credit Suisse from 1989 to 2020. According to UBS, the experts' affiliation with KPMG could lead to the experts making an embellished assessment of Credit Suisse's enterprise value.

The Commercial Court rightly rejected these seemingly contrived objections by UBS. Bearing in mind the strict case law of the Federal Supreme Court on bias, these arguments of UBS are far from sufficient to prove the required appearance of bias. There is also nothing to criticise about the qualifications of the two experts, especially as both are regarded as highly reliable experts in specialist circles. However, UBS's criticism of the experts shows once again that UBS is trying to prevent an objective valuation of Credit Suisse as at 19 March 2023 by any means necessary.

Instruction of the experts still pending

As far as the instruction of the experts is concerned, the Commercial Court intends to wait until UBS has edited the documents it requested in its decision of 18 June 2025. Following the editing, the parties will then be able to comment on the instruction of the experts.

The Swiss Investor Protection Association (Schweizerische Anlegerschutzverein, SASV) also considers this procedure to be sensible. This is because the documents to be edited may provide important information for the expert's assignment.

Deadline for editing extended

However, the Commercial Court has granted UBS more time for the redaction ordered in its decision of 18 June 2025. Specifically, UBS does not have to hand over the aforementioned documents until 29 August 2025. The plaintiffs will therefore have to be patient.

Disclaimer automated translation:

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