Almost half of economists would have preferred a nationalization of Credit Suisse, according to a survey published on Friday by the KOF institute, due to concerns that this mega-merger raises for financial stability and competition in Switzerland. To avoid a wreck of Credit Suisse, the number two in the Swiss banking sector, the Swiss authorities urgently organized a takeover by its competitor UBS, the country’s largest bank. On March 19, UBS agreed on March 19 to pay 3 billion Swiss francs (an equivalent amount in euros) to take over.
“This decision has been the subject of a lively debate in public opinion and among economists,” says KOF, the economic research center of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, in a press release, which therefore carried out a rapid survey to 167 economists According to this survey carried out with the Zurich newspaper NZZ, 48% of the economists consulted would have preferred a takeover bid by the State, with a possible subsequent sale, to the extent that this alternative would have helped to maintain competition in Swiss.
A “tarnished” international reputation for the Swiss financial center
But 28% would have preferred to opt for the application of the reorganization and liquidation procedure defined by the regime provided for establishments too large to fail. This solution would have made it possible to save the Swiss branch of the bank while the international part could have been “cleaned up or liquidated in an orderly manner”, notes the KOF. Only 19% support this takeover bid by UBS, believing that this solution has avoided destabilizing international markets and will allow the consolidation of Credit Suisse to begin immediately, the rest of the questioned economists prefer other options, including a takeover bid by a foreing bank. .
Almost 80% of the economists surveyed believe that the international reputation of the Swiss financial center has deteriorated somewhat or noticeably. And 69% believe that the stability of the Swiss banking sector has deteriorated. More than half also consider that the quality of services and access to credit have deteriorated. At its quarterly monetary policy meeting, the Swiss central bank explained that “the pressure of time was enormous” to find a solution, with its president saying that an ordered bankruptcy “on the contrary” would risk triggering a financial crisis “still elderly”. .
The survey was conducted from March 23 to 29. 863 economists were contacted. Responses were received from 167 economists from 19 institutions.
Source: BFM TV
