A former number two of the SNB tries to reassure the day after the announcement of the loan to the tune of 50 billion granted to Credit Suisse. ‘There is a 99% chance that there will be no consequences for public finances and taxpayers’, he said in the press.
“This loan will be used sparingly and it will be repaid,” adds Jean-Pierre Danthine on Friday in the ESH titles.
The former member of the executive board of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) between 2010 and 2015, now director of the Enterprise For Society (E4S) institute in Lausanne, is calm, while the left worried Thursday about the consequences of the loan of the SNB on the population.
On paper, the SNB’s contribution does not give more power to the authorities within the bank, adds the specialist. But, if Credit Suisse’s choices should displease the Swiss central bank, ‘it will express it and be heard’.
‘No less solvent’
Returning to the fall on the stock market of the Zurich bank, Jean-Pierre Danthine affirms that it is the victim of a crisis of confidence stemming from an unrelated financial event. ‘If Credit Suisse is the most affected, it is because it is perceived as the weakest of the pack, he explains, but the bank is no less solvent than it was there a few weeks.
For the Geneva lawyer, Marc Henzelin, this lack of confidence is generalized to all Swiss banks. ‘A major explanation comes from the regulatory framework, he said in Le Temps, the criminal liability of companies is absolutely weak’.
Jean-Pierre Danthine also sees no similarity with the rescue of UBS almost fifteen years ago during the ‘subprime’ crisis. Credit Suisse’s capitalization rates are ‘probably ten times higher than UBS at the time’, he says. The support of the SNB is not a sign of a financial crisis, abounds economics professor Aymo Brunetti in the German-speaking titles of the Tamedia group.
After several days of tension, the SNB and Finma assured the bank of their support on Wednesday. Credit Suisse resolved to accept this aid a few hours later. The bank has indeed indicated that it will borrow up to 50 billion francs from the SNB to ‘strengthen’ itself. At the same time, the establishment announced a series of debt buyback operations for around 3 billion francs.
/ATS