Swiss Finance Minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, recently shared in an interview that the Swiss government had to intervene in order to save Credit Suisse from an imminent collapse. The bank was mired in a deep crisis, and investor confidence had eroded to such an extent that had it not been for the intervention, it would have likely not survived another day of trading. Speaking to the Zurich newspaper NZZ, Keller-Sutter shared that “CS would not have survived Monday. Without a solution, payment transactions with CS in Switzerland would have been significantly disrupted, possibly even collapsed.” In addition, the minister estimated that the impact of the bank falling into disarray could be double the Swiss economic output, leading to a global financial crisis.
The purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS through a Swiss government-brokered deal has come under criticism for disregarding investor rights and posing a significant burden for Swiss taxpayers in case of another financial crisis. However, Keller-Sutter clarified that the alternative of not intervening was far worse.