HONG KONG, March 20, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Hong Kong's banking sector has "insignificant" exposure to troubled Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, the city's monetary authority said on Monday.

"The total assets of Credit Suisse AG, Hong Kong Branch amounted to about HK$100 billion ($12.7 billion), representing less than 0.5 percent of the total assets of the Hong Kong banking sector," the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said in a statement. 

"The exposures of the local banking sector to Credit Suisse are insignificant."

The announcement came after UBS announced Sunday it would take over Swiss rival Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion, following crunch talks aimed at stopping the stricken bank from triggering a wider international banking crisis.

The deal, in which Switzerland's biggest bank will take over the second largest, was vital to prevent irreparable economic turmoil from spreading throughout the country and beyond, the Swiss government said.

HKMA joined Washington, Frankfurt and London in welcoming the move as one that would support financial stability, after a week of turbulence following the collapse of two US banks.

Credit Suisse's operations in the Asian financial hub include a branch and two licensed corporations, the HKMA said.

"All of them will open for business today as usual," the statement said. "Customers can continue to access their deposits with the branch and trading services provided by Credit Suisse for Hong Kong's stock and derivatives markets."

Hong Kong's banking sector was in a healthy liquidity position, the authority said, with the average Liquidity Coverage Ratio for major institutions at 162.3 percent in Q4 2022, well above the 100 percent minimum requirement.