Credit Suisse, an industrial bank with a chequered history

The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS marks the end of a story of success and turmoil for Switzerland's number two bank. Like UBS, Credit Suisse's origins date back to the dawn of Swiss industrialization. To finance the expansion of the railroads, businessman Alfred Escher founded the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA) on July 5, 1856.