© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Logos of the Swiss bank UBS and Credit Suisse in Zurich, Switzerland, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber
GENEVA (Reuters) – Switzerland’s federal prosecutor has opened an investigation into the state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse by the UBS group, the attorney general’s office said on Sunday.
The prosecutor, based in Bern, the Swiss capital, is investigating possible breaches of the country’s criminal law by government officials, regulators and executives of the two banks, which agreed to an emergency merger last month to prevent a collapse in the country’s financial system.
There were “numerous aspects of the events surrounding Credit Suisse” that warranted an investigation and needed to be looked at to “identify any criminal offenses that might fall within the (prosecutor’s) remit,” it said in a statement.
“The Attorney General’s Office wants to proactively fulfill its mandate and responsibility to contribute to a clean Swiss financial center and has set up a monitoring system so that it can immediately take action on any issues that fall within its area of responsibility.” , said. aggregate.
He gave no indication of any specific aspects of the merger deal that he might investigate or how long the investigation might take.
Both UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.
OUT OF THE ORDINARY
“It’s amazing that the prosecutor would comment,” said Mark Pieth, a professor emeritus at the University of Basel, where he taught criminal law and criminology. But the rescue “is so out of the ordinary that they had to say something.”
Pieth said the prosecutor may be looking into violations of secrecy provisions by officials, or insider trading, adding that the removal of some bondholders as planned in the deal is also problematic.
In the deal announced March 19 and orchestrated by the Swiss government, central bank and market regulator, UBS would acquire rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.3 billion). The bank is trying to close the deal by the end of April, sources told Reuters.
The Swiss public and politicians have expressed concern about the level of state support, with almost 260 billion Swiss francs in liquidity and guarantees offered by the government and the Swiss National Bank.
A survey of Swiss economists found that almost half thought the Credit Suisse acquisition was not the best solution and warned that the situation had dented Switzerland’s reputation as a banking center.
The acquisition, which was also designed to help ensure global financial stability during a period of turmoil, has raised concerns among critics about the size of the merged bank, with $1.6 trillion in assets and more than 120,000 employees worldwide. the world.
Up to 30% of staff could lose their jobs due to the takeover, according to an anonymous UBS senior manager quoted in Swiss media.
($1 = 0.9148 Swiss francs)
