The shareholders should therefore receive CHF 0.50 per share. Credit Suisse had reportedly rejected an initial purchase offer of $1 billion.

Representatives of both banks, authorities and the government discussed the rescue of Credit Suisse under great time pressure over the weekend. An agreement should be reached before the exchanges open on Monday morning.

Credit Suisse has recently come under further pressure after a series of previous scandals, including the closure of two US banks, Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which had worried the financial sector. Statements by Credit Suisse's largest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank from Saudi Arabia, that it did not want to increase investments in the second-largest Swiss bank sent the price plummeting.

After falling sharply on the stock exchange last week, Credit Suisse shares closed at CHF 1.86 on Friday. The bank was worth just over $8.7 billion.