PUK report –
Credit Suisse shamelessly exploited the weak state – until its end
Switzerland is amazed at the results of the PUK investigations. At the same time, it could miss the opportunity to stave off the next financial crisis. That is fatal.
Comment from Published today at 12:52 p.m
The end of the CS is announced: representatives of the federal government and the big banks at the media conference on March 19, 2023.
Photo: Peter Klaunzer (Keystone)
Subscribe now and benefit from the read-aloud function.
BotTalk
The PUK report provides a clear picture. He shows how high-ranking managers worried that their actions were causing enormous damage to Credit Suisse. And it also illustrates how weak institutions did not prevent this. The then Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer and the former Finma leadership around President Thomas Bauer and Mark Branson became part of the problem instead of the solution. Under her leadership, CS was granted a capital buffer discount in 2017. From that point on she seemed safer than she actually was. Looking back, it was catastrophic.
This decision marks the beginning of the end for Credit Suisse for PUK. After that, Finma was no longer able to get the CS bosses on the right track. And they took advantage of that. For years, the bonuses flowed into billions, while letters from Finma piled up on the CS managers’ tables. They were of no use. What is even worse is that from today’s perspective it is no longer possible to understand how and why the CS was granted the relief.
Today similar questions arise again. Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter is calling for a larger capital cushion for UBS as a result of the CS crisis. There should be 15 to 25 billion francs of additional equity capital. The big bank is defending itself against this. It is expensive for her – and she doubts that the measure will make the bank more resilient.
The banks have also recently increased their lobbying again against other proposals from the Federal Council. They are also resisting more funding for Finma. Fines for banks or errant managers are unnecessary. The responsibility system for high-ranking managers should be “lean and pragmatic”.
The PUK report clearly shows that weak supervision promotes crises. Now is the moment to change that and provide them with more resources and greater skills. So that a CS case does not repeat itself.
The Sunday
Receive current research, background information and a best-of of the week as well as exclusive insights from the editor-in-chief.
More newsletters
Log in
Found an error? Report now.
0 comments
Swiss
