CS-PUK threatens first defeat: Doesn’t Urs Rohner ever have to compete?

class=”sc-29f61514-0 jbwksb”>

It started at 7 am on a Friday morning. Members of the Credit Suisse Parliamentary Investigation Commission (PUK) held their first meeting. According to the relevant people, the President of the Commission, Isabelle Chassot, stated that she wanted to get to work as soon as possible. The first thing that was introduced was a kind of communication ban. If so, then only the President should communicate with the public. All other members are not allowed to comment as one member endorses the Sunday opinion.

The tension is great, so are the PUK’s expectations. The President knows this, too, and is in a deep pile as a precaution: “If we disappoint, it’s because we’ve done the job we had to do,” Chassot told daily newspapers in western Switzerland after his election Thursday. .

The PUK may be disappointing because its investigative work will primarily focus on the federal authorities, namely the Federal Council, the Financial Market Authority and the National Bank. And less about the managers of the banks involved: Urs Rohner, Axel Lehmann, Thomas Gottstein or Ueli Körner. The middle group Freiburg State Council said there are other tools for analyzing the liability of banks and their bodies.

expectations are high

However, the public thinks that the PUK will also target the responsible managers of the collapsed big bank. For KYB member Daniela Schneeberger, it is important to involve “as many” people as possible. “In addition to representatives of the federal government, relevant third parties should also provide information to the PUK,” says the Basel-based FDP national assembly member. He does not want to name individual bankers.

But can the PUK ever summon bank managers? Opinions differ on this matter. According to the statements of two PUK members, this is not possible. One member says that although KYB can invite bank managers, they do not have to accept the invitation. The obligation to participate in surveys only applies to federal employees and thus bodies of, for example, Finma and the Central Bank.

Is this really the case? Isabelle Chassot left many questions unanswered, including the ban on communications, referring to the relevant provisions of the Act of Parliament and the “comprehensive confidentiality” of all those attending the meetings and interviews. “But you can assume we will communicate openly and transparently when the time comes,” she wrote in an email reply.

“KYB can legally call third parties as witnesses”

Andrea Caroni, a PUK member and FDP member, who is also a lawyer, says that upon request, the PUK can “present third parties as legally binding witnesses”, citing two articles in the parliamentary act. Article 155 states that prior to any questioning, it must be determined whether a person will testify as a defendant or as a witness. This distinction is important: “everyone” is “obligated” to testify, while “a person who is the subject of an investigation wholly or primarily can only be questioned as the informant”. And, according to Article 155, he has the right to refuse to testify.

Urs Rohner or Axel Lehmann is likely to be questioned as witnesses. In this case, they must comply with the calls and provide accurate information. But that could change – for example, if bank representatives turn out to be giving false information to the authorities. Then they can no longer be witnesses but informants and refuse to testify.

One PUK member still advises bank representatives to cooperate as much as possible. “I doubt it’s a good idea to turn down an invitation – it just hurts yourself.” The loss of reputation would be huge.

PUK members threatened with discredit

PUK members are also under the threat of loss of reputation. They may make history, but the decline will be even more severe if they fail to provide new insights into Credit Suisse’s collapse. The public’s disappointment would be great and the PUK would have wasted five million francs.

Meanwhile, as an insider said, most of the money will likely flow to external research firms. Specialized commercial law firms or management consultants are already rubbing their hands. But the budget is running out fast: “Five million francs is enough for two McKinsey reports.”

Source :Blick