Geneva (EFE)
“We are not a criminal authority, but we are exploring the corresponding possibilities,” said the president of the Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in Switzerland, Marlene Amstad, in an interview with the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag.
The decision to open proceedings against Credit Suisse’s executive leadership has not yet been taken, he said, noting that the priority now is to ensure that the transition phase to integrate Credit Suisse into the UBS structure is carried out successfully, and thus way to guarantee financial stability as a whole.
In view of the fact that this merger will make UBS a bank of unprecedented proportions -it is estimated that it will weigh twice the Swiss GDP, which amounts to some 800,000 million euros-, the Swiss regulator will have to review the demands that will be made on it in terms of capital and liquidity, which are specific in the financial system for some thirty global banks considered too big to fail.
“The demands are going to increase, although there will be certain transition periods that will be necessary,” said Amstad.
The person in charge commented that the hasty and forced sale of Credit Suisse to its competitor to avoid a total collapse has opened the discussion so that FINMA has new instruments of intervention, such as the possibility of issuing fines or establishing a regime of senior executives. so that responsibilities are easier to elucidate.
“It was often not easy to know who was responsible for what,” he acknowledged.
On the other hand, the Swiss Minister of Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter, has reported in statements to the local press that Credit Suisse has withdrawn several billion francs from the liquidity made available by the Swiss National Bank.
He explained that this money was necessary because customers in Switzerland and abroad continued to withdraw their funds from the bank and other establishments abroad demanded guarantees.