It is expected that the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and the Swiss Bank Corp (SBS) will announce a full merger today, according to newspaper reports. The new bank is likely to be called the Union Bank of Switzerland. The merger would create the world's second largest commercial bank with assets of around £408 billion.

It was reported that considerable overlap in the two groups' investment banking businesses was expected to lead to the loss of 5,000-7,000 jobs, with London hardest hit. Both banks said they would issue a statement this morning as a Swiss Sunday newspaper, SonntagsZeitung, said that a full-blown merger was on the cards.