The senators endorsed following five hours of debate the urgent credits submitted to Parliament for a total amount of 109 billion francs by 29 votes once morest 6 and 7 abstentions. But critics have rushed to denounce the shortcomings that led to the crisis.
The fall of Credit Suisse is very painful, whether for employees, savers, but also for companies, said Hansjörg Knecht (UDC / AG). “Events like these undermine confidence in our economy and in our state.” We must now fear the risk that UBS, by its size, poses to Switzerland, he said.
“The debacle of Credit Suisse is a great disaster for Switzerland, social, political and economic”, added Benedikt Würth (Center / SG). “The collateral damage is enormous”. From a liberal point of view, it is “confusing” that taxpayers’ money is used to make up for the mistakes of a private company, regretted Olivier Français (PLR / VD).
>> Explanations in Forum:
Credit Suisse executives singled out
Most of the speakers castigated the leaders of the big bank. “Unfortunately, Credit Suisse managers have learned nothing from past mistakes,” said Peter Hegglin (Center / ZG). Roberto Zanetti (PS / SO) spoke of “irresponsible Bankster”. All this mess is due to this “caste of managers”, added Thierry Burkart (AG), president of the PLR.
For Beat Rieder (Center / VS), this affair arouses great resentment within the population which must be taken into account. Charles Juillard (Center / JU) is also of the opinion that we owe him an explanation.
Senators stressed the need to take action. Some have insisted on the need to revise the “too big to fail” regulations. Many want to strengthen the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Everyone wants to reduce the risks so that such a situation does not happen once more. A postulate has been tacitly adopted to shed light on the banking crisis.
>> Watch Valérie Gilloz’s comment on the revolt in Parliament on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.:
A report on the redemption
The acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS will have to be studied from every angle, in particular by means of a report. The senators tacitly adopted a commission postulate. The text asks for clarifications not only on the size of the new bank, but also on the continuation of the activities of Credit Suisse, the competitive situation of UBS as well as the competences of FINMA or the capital requirements.
This is a comprehensive report on the merits, which gives an overview of the situation and not only of Credit Suisse, noted Johanna Gapany (PLR / FR) for the commission. The aim is to collect information in order to be able to examine whether legislative changes are necessary. “We can and must work to ensure that such a situation does not happen once more.”
The Federal Council was also in favor of the postulate. He has already announced his commitment to submit a report within a year.
This is a comprehensive report on the background that gives an overview of the situation and not only of Credit Suisse
Suspense au National
The National should look into the credits at the start of the evening. Here, things get more complicated. The PS and Les Verts have set conditions for their support for the guarantees.
The former want stricter safeguards for the big banks. The leader of the Socialist group Roger Nordmann (PS / VD) announced to him last week that the Socialist Party would vote once morest the credits requested by the government, because he disapproves of the way in which the Federal Council is proceeding to save Credit Suisse.
The latter link their approval to sustainability criteria. “If the climate was a bank, the Federal Council would have intervened to save it a long time ago,” said Greens President Balthasar Glättli, just before the start of the extraordinary session.
As for the UDC, it refuses the two credits. In his eyes, the “too big to fail” regulation does not work. The PLR and The Center would have prevented finding a solution to the problem, while the Federal Council and FINMA would not have done their job. The party intends to table two motions during the session, so that no bank belongs to the category “too big to fail” and so that the majority of the members of the boards of directors of systemically important companies be of nationality Swiss and that they are domiciled in Switzerland.
>> Listen also to the interview of national councilor Pierre-André Page (UDC/FR) in Forum:
Votes scheduled for late evening
National votes are scheduled for late in the evening. The first emergency credit of CHF 100 billion enables the Confederation to guarantee the loans granted by the SNB to Credit Suisse. The second of 9 billion is intended for the granting of a guarantee to UBS for possible losses.
In addition to these guarantees, the SNB provided the two banks with an additional CHF 150 billion in liquidity. These amounts are not submitted to Parliament.
>> Relive our follow-up to the Credit Suisse takeover:
UBS buys Credit Suisse for 3 billion francs. Objective: “to restore confidence”
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