The state bank of Geneva is facing calls for a payback of state-aid it received at the beginning of the century. The money involved is pretty substantial for a company of its size.
A group of leftist politicians yesterday said they wanted the cantonal bank to pay 3.2 billion Swiss francs to the regional government. They launched an initiative to force the payment and now need to collect the support of 7,700 voters for their bid. The canton owns 44 percent of the bank and the city 21 percent.
Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE) didn’t respond yesterday, but returned with a forceful statement today: «The bank has reviewed the proposed mechanism and concludes that it is not feasible.» It added that the demand «would seriously damage the interests of the bank» and prevent it from «supporting the Geneva economy».
Meddling With Figures
The political demand for a repayment goes back to the year 2000. BCGE had to be rescued by the taxpayer because it had gotten into trouble. High-ranking managers over a period of three years had meddled with the figures of the bank.
Geneva forked out 2.3 billion francs to save its cantonal bank. With accrued interest and the costs for setting up a rescue company, the sum the bank owed now amounted to 3.2 billion, according to the group.
Generating Profits
They also claimed that the bank so far had only returned 25 million francs to the state coffers. By contrast, BCGE says that canton and city had received 368 million francs from the profits the bank generated since its rescue. In the first six months of 2017, the bank had a net profit of 47 million francs.
Geneva has an electorate that is traditionally left-leaning.
