Finma welcomes the ICC's recommendation to entrust it with new responsibilities. “We ourselves have been asking for this for some time,” says the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) in a position statement following the publication of the report. At the same time, Finma accepts the criticisms expressed by the commissioners. “We continue to strengthen our supervision and apply the lessons learned from the Credit Suisse case,” the authority said.
It is important to draw the right lessons from the experience of the Credit Suisse crisis and strengthen regulation in Switzerland: this is the first immediate reaction from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) after the publication of the CPI report. The document will be analyzed in detail, the SNB told the AWP agency. In its 2024 financial stability report, the central bank had already underlined the need to intervene in the areas of capital and liquidity requirements.
The competent authorities must draw the right lessons from the Credit Suisse affair: at this point what is called “intelligent” regulation is necessary. It is the reaction of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) to the publication of the ICC report on the collapse of the institution. The SBA agrees with the commissioners that the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) has not always made full use of the means at its disposal. «It is on this point that we see the primary need to act, rather than on the introduction of additional tools». The SBA also supports the idea of strengthening the liquidity provision of institutions.
The report confirms that the bank collapsed due to strategic errors, mismanagement and reliance on regulatory concessions. This is the reading of the document made by UBS, the institution that acquired the competitor in 2023 in a maneuver orchestrated together with the authorities. More generally, UBS says it supports most of the Government's proposals to strengthen the resilience of the financial centre. However, according to the bank, any adjustment to regulatory requirements must be “targeted, proportional and coordinated at an international level”.
It is essential that Switzerland continues to have a large, competitive and internationally positioned bank: this is the opinion of Economiesuisse, which opposes what it fears could be an excess of regulatory zeal. The export industry depends on an internationally well-connected global bank, capable of accompanying, financing and supporting its business activities abroad, Economiesuisse argues. «The bank must not be unnecessarily burdened by requirements that hinder it in international competition or make its services more expensive».
The effective crisis management by Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter during the collapse of the SC prevented an international financial crisis, her party, the FDP, has indicated. The latter instead criticized the UDC's Ueli Maurer and deplored the fact that Finma acted too late. The party highlighted how Keller-Sutter has implemented “effective coordination with both domestic partners and foreign authorities.” In the decisive years preceding the bankruptcy of Credit Suisse, the Federal Department of Finance (FDF), headed at the time by Maurer, “slept”, stated the FDP. The Centre, for its part, has called for more effective regulation. Finma must be strengthened and the SNB must be involved more closely. «The recommendations made by the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (…) must be implemented without being watered down». The liberal Greens also supported the measures recommended by the ICC. The party then criticized the “greed and obstinacy” of the CS leaders.
