From Crédit Suisse to the Swiss needing credit

The takeover of Crédit Suisse by UBS in March 2023 for 3 billion Swiss francs both surprised and reassured all financial players and politicians in Europe. A major player in Swiss banking and finance, but also worldwide through the internationalization and diversification of its activities, the fear of bankruptcy has officially dissipated. The sense of relief is enormous: Crédit Suisse is the second largest bank in the country after UBS, and as such, a bankruptcy would undoubtedly have caused the generalized weakening of other banking institutions, perhaps even a large-scale bank run. The more than 7 billion Swiss francs in losses recorded by the bank in 2022 have led the Swiss monetary and political authorities to act quickly. Long-time rivals, UBS and Crédit Suisse now form a single bank, the size of which is supposed to protect the institution and the banking sector from further turbulence. However, from the point of view of Switzerland, and above all, of the Swiss, the situation is darker… and more worrying. Indeed, in the “country of banks” (the banking and financial sector represents approximately 15% of GDP in the broad sense), the disappearance of such an institution, which was the pride of the Swiss, has destabilized the country and its citizens. Founded in 1856, Crédit Suisse has supported the industrial development of the country — gaining the status of systemic bank during the 20th century — and has largely contributed to Switzerland’s international reputation as a stable and reliable financial centre. So how to explain such a debacle? I give two main reasons. <a href="https://medium.com/@monetarypolicyinstitute/from-cr%C3%A9dit-suisse-to-the-swiss-needing-credit-2a66bfd74971">Website</a>