The chair of the Swiss Bankers Association told a Swiss newspaper what authorities need to take into account as they evaluate the reasons behind the Credit Suisse fallout and come up with new rules to strengthen Switzerland’s banking system.
Following lawmakers’ demands expressed Wednesday to tighten industry regulation, Swiss Bankers Association chair Marcel Rohner and former UBS CEO, told the Swiss newspaper «Tages-Anzeiger» (in German) that sticking to the current industry's rulebook is the best way to stabilize the financial system.
It is important to remember that new measures, including higher capital requirements as proposed during this week's extraordinary parliamentary session in Bern, come with a hefty price tag, Rohner said.
The comment came a day after the head of the centrist political party «Die Mitte» Gerhard Pfister recommended lifting the capital requirement for banks to 20 percent (currently, Finma demands systemically relevant banks hold a minimum 10 percent Common Equity Tier 1 ratio), while other parliamentarians spoke in favor of nationalizing Credit Suisse.
One Among 239
A characteristic of the Swiss banking landscape to bear in mind is its heterogeneity, with 239 banks active in different business areas, Rohner said, adding that out of these, only one ran into difficulties.
Furthermore, as the case in other countries, Switzerland could well make do with one universal bank, he said.
In Rohner's view, a future combined UBS/Credit Suisse should have a clear focus on wealth and asset management and be a very controlled investment bank. In regard to concerns about the size of the combined bank, he pointed out that UBS/Credit Suisse bank was 40 percent smaller than UBS was before the financial crisis.
