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The Swiss Finance Minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, has stated that the multi-billion state-sponsored takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS is expected to proceed smoothly without political obstructions. The Swiss parliament will hold an extraordinary session next week to discuss the emergency merger, which was engineered by the Swiss authorities after Credit Suisse nearly collapsed. To back the takeover and avoid a financial meltdown, the bank was offered nearly 260 billion Swiss francs ($287 billion) of liquidity support and state guarantees.
Keller-Sutter defended the government’s intervention, stating that the primary goal of the Federal Council was to ensure the stability of the Swiss economy and financial centre and prevent an international financial crisis. Completing the merger was the highest priority, according to the minister. She also stated that the risks to the taxpayer were acceptable, even though the government could assume up to 9 billion francs in losses incurred by UBS by the takeover.
The new combined bank will have $1.6 trillion in assets and more than 120,000 staff. Keller-Sutter also commented on the structure of UBS, stating that it would have to be considered in the future. She explained that UBS would have to hold more equity after the takeover, which could force them to shrink. Switzerland’s Competition Commission can also make recommendations, the minister added.
Keller-Sutter criticized the culture at Credit Suisse, which she said had set the wrong incentives and had not learned from previous scandals and prosecutions. She also defended the write-down of AT1 bonds to zero, a controversial part of the rescue. According to Keller-Sutter, these are high-risk bonds with high yields, sometimes over 9%, and the prospectus for these bonds makes it clear that if a company claims indirect government aid, they can be written off.
The special parliamentary session next week was important, she added, and a welcome opportunity to get to the truth of the Credit Suisse debacle. While parliament can “only” advise on the commitment credit at the moment, it also has the opportunity to comment on the case and play an active role in the process. Overall, the Finance Minister is optimistic that the merger will proceed smoothly without major political obstacles.
(With Agency inputs)
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