Like socks, banks are rarely sexy, but they have their raison d'être. Modesty and reliability do us all good, above all when Switzerland is Switzerland and remembers its basics and doesn't get lost in hype. We may not be better than others, but we are not worse, writes banker Fabian Kaeslin in his guest article. Our differences give us confidence.
Switzerland is sweating and Summer temperatures are once motivating many people to go on a beach vacation t, take trips to the swimming pool, enjoy a refreshing beer in a mountain pub, or stick together on the highway.
Cooling down is the order of the day. White wine yes, but please with ice cubes, ice cream in all colors, lots of shade, and the obligatory jump into the cooler water of Swiss lakeside beaches, which has become more expensive in the past year. Accordingly, central bankers are also sweating. A moment ago, they were busy saving the planet in a modern and trendy way, now they have to cool inflation again. A core task to be sure, but perhaps these «basics» are less applause-generating than important.
«In the city of my birth, the traditional 1st August celebration was canceled»
In Switzerland, people are similarly sweating. Neutrality has been abandoned. So has Credit Suisse, leaving us to wonder if these are these seasonal heat events or rather a long-term overheating of the system. Does Switzerland still have its «basics» under control?
That gives rise to the thought arises that basics might not be so clear anymore. There's talk of populism on both sides of the political spectrum and the urban-rural conflict. Too much or too little immigration, a lack of skilled workers, or a lack of willingness to integrate.
In the city where I was born, the traditional August 1 celebration was canceled to make way for the construction related to a music festival. People are discussing tradition and cosmopolitanism. The much admired Patrouille Suisse, true to its motto «Precision, Safety, Perfection» has been flying over Swiss events again for several weeks without incident.
«A few trends are slept through, but one sleeps more calmly for it»
Change is omnipresent and there's always discussion which makes us confident. We've never been a nation of quick fixes, discussions are held and consensus is reached at a comfortably slow, almost leisurely pace. A few trends are missed, but we sleep more calmly. The basics may change, but we remain fundamentally true to ourselves - as contradictory as that may be.
This would be good for the financial center. Focus on the basics, possibly at the expense of sleeping on a few trends. After all, Credit Suisse had a Chief Happiness Officer, but less focus on the basics. The Federal Council and federal institutions seemed to be in constant contact with overseas representatives shortly before Credit Suise's demise. Even the press conference on that fateful Sunday was held almost entirely in English.
Was there enough contact with Swiss industrialists? Was there no Swiss solution outside UBS? No Swiss investor would've entered into the greatly reduced entrepreneurial risk with such extensive guarantees. Wouldn't a short-term partial nationalization via the National Bank have been the better longer-term solution for the country? Has Bern done a fundamentally clean job?
«It will take more than discussion and consensus»
In plain English, get your basics right. The topic is now being discussed in a PUK - entirely Swiss in our national languages, which gives us confidence. The financial center and Switzerland in particular will survive this particular crisis. Crises also present opportunities. But to leave the platitude as such behind and achieve actual results, it will take more than discussion and consensus.
The downfall of Credit Suisse shouldn't only be seen as a short-term, tactical opportunity to poach customers and employees, but much more as a long-term strategic return to «small is beautiful.» The small, direct-democratic Swiss Confederation, thanks to its slowness and consensus thinking, solves the big problems better in the long run than large centralized states.
The same is true of banks. Anonymous big banks are busy with internal politics, siloed thinking, and endless PowerPoint battles, while small and medium-sized banks are often controlled by strong entrepreneurial personalities that are flexible, and close to their customers. To put it simply, the most beautiful e-banking in the world is of little use if the customer advisor is only busy with administrative internals.
