Credit Suisse Group AG is facing a make-or-break weekend after some competitors became wary and regulators urged it to pursue a deal with UBS AG. Over the weekend, Credit Suisse Chief Financial Officer Dixit Joshi and his teams will meet to assess strategic scenarios. Swiss regulators want UBS and Credit Suisse to merge, but neither bank is interested.

The largest company caught up in the market turmoil caused by the failure of American lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank is 167-year-old Credit Suisse, which had to borrow $54 billion from the central bank. Five sources with direct knowledge of the situation claim that four major banks, including Societe Generale SA and Deutsche Bank AG, have placed restrictions on their trades involving the Swiss lender or its securities. The Swiss central bank intervened to put out the fires, but it might not be enough to win back customers' trust in Credit Suisse.

While policymakers, such as the European Central Bank and U.S. President Joe Biden, have worked to reassure investors and depositors that the global banking system is secure, Credit Suisse is the target of frantic efforts to gain support. However, concerns about deeper problems in the industry continue, prompting the Federal Reserve to provide a record-breaking $153 billion in emergency liquidity in recent days. This reflected funding and liquidity strains on banks, driven by weakening depositor confidence. Washington's attention is now on enhancing oversight to make sure banks are held accountable.

Biden urged Congress to give regulators more authority over the banking industry, including the ability to levy higher fines, seize funds, and bar officials from failing banks. Additionally, a number of Democratic U.S. lawmakers requested an investigation into Goldman Sachs' involvement in SVB's demise from regulators and the Justice Department.

Since Silicon Valley Bank's demise, banking stock prices have suffered, raising concerns about potential flaws in the larger financial system.

The second-largest bank in Switzerland, Credit Suisse, lost 8% on Friday after Morningstar Direct reported $450 million in net outflows from its American and European-managed funds from March 13 to March 15. The loan facility from the Swiss central bank, which made it the first major international bank to accept an emergency lifeline since the 2008 financial crisis, was viewed by analysts, investors, and bankers as merely buying time to figure out what to do next.

Switzerland's economic outlook may be clouded by rising financial volatility and doubts about Credit Suisse's future, but the liquidity support given to the bank is unlikely to have an impact on the nation's public finances.

U.S. regional bank shares fell sharply on Friday, and the S&P Banks index tumbled 4.6%, bringing its decline over the past two weeks to 21.5%, its worst two-week calendar loss since the COVID-19 pandemic shook markets in March 2020.

First Republic Bank lost more than 80% of its value over the previous 10 trading sessions as of Friday's close, falling 32.8%. The bank's tardy disclosures of its cash position and emergency liquidity shocked investors. SVB Financial Group filed for a court-supervised reorganization, days after its former banking unit, SVB, was taken over by U.S. regulators. In order to facilitate a sale, regulators have asked banks interested in purchasing SVB and Signature Bank to submit bids by Friday. They are also open to the idea of the government assuming losses.

Authorities have made numerous attempts to emphasize that the current turmoil is distinct from the global financial crisis of 15 years ago because banks are better capitalized and funds are more readily available, but their assurances have frequently met with resistance.

The ECB held its second ad hoc supervisory board meeting this week to discuss the strains and volatility in the banking industry, which was an unusual move.

According to a source familiar with the meeting's discussion, the supervisors were informed that deposits were stable across the euro zone and that their exposure to Credit Suisse was unimportant.