ZURICH (ANP/RTR/Bloomberg) – The collapse of major bank Credit Suisse earlier this year damaged the image of Switzerland’s financial sector as well as the country itself. UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said this at a banking event in Zurich. UBS has acquired Credit Suisse to prevent further damage to the Swiss banking system.
Credit Suisse collapsed due to a series of scandals, financial problems and flight of account holders. Switzerland’s No. 2 bank was bailed out by the larger UBS during a busy March weekend under massive pressure from the Swiss government. During this takeover, the government provided billions in guarantees, which angered the Swiss population and politicians. UBS is now cutting thousands of jobs at Credit Suisse as a result of the merger.
Ermotti spoke of Credit Suisse’s “slow, painful demise” with a “dramatic ending.” He said he understood that people were wondering what would happen if a new crisis emerged in the Swiss banking sector. Ermotti also said that Switzerland should do more to strengthen supervision of the banking sector, and that regulators should also be given more resources to intervene more quickly in cases of problems and mismanagement by bankers.
