The finance committees of the two Federal Chambers accepted on Thursday the urgent credits for the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. The amount amounts to 109 billion francs.
The National Commission approved these credits by 17 votes to 1 and 4 abstentions, its president Roland Fischer (PVL / LU) said Thursday evening. The first priority is to give a signal of stabilization, he continued, specifying however that important questions on regulation or competition remained to be settled.
Member of this commission, Gerhard Andrey (Vert-es/FR) cited the responsibility of executives and the payment of bonuses, a damage report, the question of equity and the separation of banking activities or even sustainability criteria linked to state aid. Certain points will be dealt with during the debates on these appropriations.
Others have been integrated into a “mega-postulate”. Various measures should be explored to prevent such a situation from repeating itself in the future, according to Fischer.
Earlier, her counterpart at the Council of States Johanna Gapany (PLR / FR) described the current context as sad, “which we would all have done without”, particularly given the current financial situation of the Confederation. “The population is worried, the commission too,” she said, adding that it is above all a question of guaranteeing the stability of the country’s economy.
The risks of bankruptcy have been widely discussed. Estimates have been made, evaluating the lowest cost at 146 billion francs, a situation which would have greatly limited the access of SMEs and households to their deposits, said the senator. The committee of the Chamber of Cantons accepted the appropriations unanimously.
No choice
The Federal Council requested these two commitment credits on Wednesday as part of the supplement to the 2023 budget. The first concerns a guarantee against the risk of default in the amount of 100 billion francs, which will be made available to the Bank Swiss national (SNB). The latter will be able to use it to cover the loans it will grant in the form of liquid assets to Credit Suisse.
The other credit relates to UBS. So that the number one bank can acquire Credit Suisse, the Confederation will grant it a guarantee against losses of 9 billion. The guarantee will only apply if UBS records losses of more than 5 billion during the takeover.
The Finance Delegation approved these amounts, which will only affect the federal budget if Credit Suisse goes bankrupt and the SNB suffers a permanent loss. Johanna Gapany stressed that any other choice would amount to sending a blame to the Finance Delegation and the Federal Council. “In fact, it was no longer possible to tie the appropriations to any condition,” she said, noting however that Parliament has other means of acting.
The Council of States commission has thus made three proposals. First of all, it asks for an increase in the resources made available to the Federal Department of Finance for monitoring this merger from 5 to 7 million francs.
It also wants the Confederation to examine the merger as a third party under the Cartel Act, so that it is as compliant as possible. On a narrow vote of 6 votes against 5, it finally proposes that it be impossible to grant other risk guarantees in emergency procedure.
An overview
The commission of the Chamber of Cantons still requires a report “to have a general vision, to understand what worked or not and why”, continued its president. The postulate asks for clarifications on the size of the new bank, on the continuation of the activities of Credit Suisse, the competitive situation of UBS, the competences of FINMA or the capital requirements.
All these items will be discussed during the extraordinary session on Credit Suisse from April 11 to 13. The proposal to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry (CEP) is also on the table, but this subject will no doubt be postponed to a later session. The Bureau of the National Council wants a CEP, as do the PS, the Greens and the PVL. The SVP has shown itself to be open.
The acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS not only benefits from these 109 billion francs guaranteed by the Confederation, hence the need for the approval of Parliament. But it also received loans in the form of cash to the tune of 100 billion and 50 billion three days before the announcement of the takeover. These sums were granted by the SNB directly without the guarantee of the Confederation, said Johanna Gapany.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats