Basel/Bern, 20 September 2007 – The 94th General Assembly of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) took place today in the Stade de Suisse in Bern. Over 400 bankers and invited guests from industry, politics, the administration, professional associations and the media took part in the event. An international dimension was added by the presence of ambassadors from more than 30 countries. "Leadership, not passiveness" was the main message to politicians delivered by SBA Chairman Pierre Mirabaud. One of the most important tasks of politicians, said Mr. Mirabaud, was to set up a framework and make decisions that the administration can implement faithfully and without ideological bias. Mr. Mirabaud went further and listed 3 ways in which Parliament could be professionalised and strengthened: first, voters must elect strong-willed personalities; second, the incentives to attract politicians into Parliament must be brought up to date; and third, the process by which personalities from the world of Swiss industry and economics can enter politics should be simplified. The traditional speech on behalf of the Government was delivered by Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Switzerland's economics minister.

This year Swiss Bankers Day took place in the middle of the campaign for October's parliamentary elections and in his speech Pierre Mirabaud stressed several times that, as a representative of the banking industry, he wanted to foster dialogue with all political parties and that he was actually more interested in solutions to problems than in party politics.

The central question posed in his speech was "What are the characteristics of an excellent politician?" and Pierre Mirabaud answered with a list of five desirable attributes, summarised as follows: politicians must represent the greater good and not personal interests and they should defend national interests, also when outside the country. Pierre Mirabaud said most politicians displayed a too-narrow European focus and called on them to employ a global perspective. "Switzerland's trading partners are to be found not just between Tallinn and Lisbon, but as far afield as Seoul and Mumbai, Los Angeles and São Paolo," said Mr. Mirabaud, and added, "realism and economic sense are what we need, not romanticised Euro-nostalgia." He said he also wanted to see strong-willed personalities in the political arena who are more practitioners than theoreticians, in other words not party ideologues but rather people who can produce solutions. He concluded in characteristically direct manner: "Goal-oriented leadership in the national interest within the context of globalisation is what we need not only from our politicians, but also from our bankers."

As in his previous Bankers Day speeches, Pierre Mirabaud did not pull his punches in today's speech. So, for example, he asked why agriculture and spending on education loomed so large in Swiss politics and noted that the economic sector was poorly represented in Swiss politics when seen against the contribution it makes to Switzerland's prosperity. He queried the permanent political fuss surrounding the demands for ever-higher spending on education, saying "Instead of just arguing about percentage increases, goals should first be set and priorities defined." Mr. Mirabaud also criticised the trend towards an increasingly politicised civil service. As a countermove he called on the industrial and economic sectors to make it easier for their representatives to play an active role in politics. Employers should make the necessary time available for people to switch from the world of business to the world of politics in order to ensure that the voice of industry and the economy is heard at the appropriate political volume. Mr. Mirabaud had no sympathy for the EU's demands in connection with the recent debate about Swiss cantonal tax regimes and said that the EU should be reminded through friendly discourse exactly where its influence stops and Swiss sovereignty begins.

Finally, he called on voters to cast a critical eye over their party's elections lists for the good of Switzerland and to be decisive in allocating their votes with and between the various lists. He wished to see "as many pragmatists as possible from each party being elected who know that voters want solutions to problems and not ideological trench warfare."

The traditional address on behalf of the Government was delivered by Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, Switzerland's economics minister, in a speech entitled "The Good, the Bad and the Banks".

Note to journalists
The full texts of the speeches by Pierre Mirabaud and Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard are available from 16.00 on the website: www.swissbanking.org.