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Basel, 16 October 2008: The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) welcomes the
package of measures
announced by the Swiss government and the Swiss National Bank to strengthen Switzerland’s financial
system. Swiss banks remain amongst the best capitalised in the world. The SBA remains open on proposals
to improve depositor protection.
The
Federal Council (Switzerland’s government) has taken the right measures at the right time. The SBA welcomes
the fact that the model chosen fits the framework of Switzerland’s market economy perfectly and should
not make any claims on taxpayers’ money. Although Swiss banks are extremely well-capitalised and have
high liquidity at their disposal, refinancing conditions on the interbank market deteriorated severely
over the past few days. In addition, rescue measures announced in other countries were having a negative
influence on the competitiveness of Switzerland’s two major banks (UBS and Credit Suisse). The speedy
response of the Federal Council should now remove these disadvantages.
The
action taken by Credit Suisse to raise its Tier 1 capital from a group of major global investors demonstrates
that, in spite of the global financial crisis, Swiss banks continue to have considerable pulling power
on world capital markets. Having taken this action Credit Suisse now already exceeds capital targets
set by the Swiss banking regulator for 2013. Credit Suisse, like UBS, is capitalised to a level far
higher than the international average.
The measures
taken will strengthen confidence in the Swiss financial centre which, with its very diversified banking
sector, remains extremely well positioned on the global financial stage.
The
SBA notes the intention of the Federal Council to strengthen depositor protection. The SBA has long
been examining the issue and will work constructively with the authorities to find a workable and credible
solution.
| Contacts |
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| Thomas Sutter |
James Nason |
| Head of Communications Switzerland |
Head of International Communications |
| Tel. +41 61 295 92 06 |
Tel. +41 61 295 92 15 |
| Fax +41 61 272 53 82 |
Fax +41 61 272 53 82 |
 www.swissbanking.org |
www.swissbanking.org |
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