Credit Suisse memorabilia up for grabs in online shops after merger

ZURICH (Reuters) – Within hours of its state-backed takeover by UBS Group being announced, memorabilia bearing lender Credit Suisses name and logo was being put up for sale in Switzerland, marking the end of an era.

Dozens of bars of gold, stamped with the name of the issuer – the 167-year-old Credit Suisse – were uploaded to the countrys most popular online marketplaces, Ricardo.ch and tutti.ch.

Blue and red ski hats bearing the ‘CS’ letters, which were the height of fashion in the 1970s, were getting bids of close to 200 Swiss francs ($216).

Other branded merch up for sale included stamps, old letters, and sports bags.

With it still unknown whether the Credit Suisse brand will be continued, the sellers are seeking to attract those looking to snap up a piece of Swiss financial history.

Credit Suisse is expected to remain an independent brand until the merger is complete, at which point UBS will decide whether to pull the plug on the separate Credit Suisse identity.

Corporate swag from recently failed Silicon Valley Bank is also proving popular online, as is merchandise linked to Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy at the height of the 2008 financial crisis.

($1 = 0.9258 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Noele Illien, Editing by Rosalba OBrien)