UBS has received approval from China’s securities regulator to sell a 36.01% stake in Credit Suisse Securities (CSS) to Beijing State-owned Assets Management (BSAM), reducing its stake to 14.99%. BSAM will own 85.01% of CSS following the deal. UBS said the transaction aligns with its strategy to optimise its onshore business in China while maintaining its partnership with BSAM. The move marks progress in integrating Credit Suisse into UBS after last year’s acquisition. However, it remains unclear whether this will facilitate UBS’s plan to take full control of UBS Securities, where BSAM holds a 33% stake. Chinese regulations prohibit a bank from holding two securities licenses, posing a challenge to UBS’s broader ambitions in the country.