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During the Credit Suisse crisis, Britain’s Financial Times (FT) was well aware of what was being discussed behind closed doors this weekend. The business newspaper was often the first to know what later became public. No wonder, according to an FT survey of Swiss politics: the merger of CS and UBS was sealed long before the Sunday on which the takeover was announced.
CS President Axel Lehmann (64) was quoted last Wednesday by Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) headed by Thomas Jordan (60) and the Financial Markets Authority (Finma). Lehmann received a clear message: “You are going to merge with UBS. This is not optional’, according to the FT.
«Major political earthquake»
This ruling is politically explosive because the SNB and Finma announced on Wednesday evening that the problems in the US “do not pose a direct threat of contagion to the Swiss financial market” and that CS meets all necessary financial requirements. Has the public been fooled?
Swiss politicians are in any case outraged. The chairman of the Green Liberals, Jürg Grossen (53), told SRF: “If what is written is true, it could become a major political earthquake.”
The stock market reacted positively to this announcement. “This communication had a major impact on market development.” Necessity or not – he wonders whether the market and the population should be duped, Grossen tells Blick. He demands that a parliamentary committee of inquiry (PUK) shed light on the matter. “We don’t want to make any further assumptions now, but specifically find out who knew what at what time,” says SP co-chair Mattea Meyer (35). And who had what influence on Switzerland!
What was the role of the US?
Keller-Sutter would have been under great international pressure. A UBS adviser told the FT that the US and France in particular had “made Switzerland hell”. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (76) had several conversations with Keller-Sutter this weekend.
So did the US put a gun to Switzerland’s chest and decree a forced marriage between CS and UBS? “I’m afraid that pressure was there, even though I can’t prove it,” says SVP national councilor Lars Guggisberg, 45. If that turns out to be true, that would be “outrageous”.
“We no longer decide alone”
It is incomprehensible to him that Switzerland has yielded to pressure from abroad, says SVP national councilor Roland Rino Büchel (57). “We are now so connected and intertwined that we think we can no longer make decisions alone.”
According to Büchel, the fact that English was spoken at the press conference on Sunday shows that the case is no longer regarded as Swiss. He therefore advocates taking a closer look at Finma’s work. He takes a more critical look at a PUK: “I can understand the demands for a more comprehensive PUK, but I fear it will trigger.” Means: that the parliamentarians could not shed light on this instrument.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
