How the Ukraine war and the banking crisis are shaking Switzerland’s business model

Zurich, Frankfurt, Geneva Marcel Rohner has his own take on the state-mandated takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. As the chief lobbyist for the Swiss banks, Rohner naturally has to put on a good face. But his interpretation of the dramatic rescue operation is surprising.

He doesn’t expect the collapse of Credit Suisse to destroy investor confidence in the financial center. Rohner, who was head of UBS himself during the financial crisis, is convinced: “That was not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.” Rohner has this opinion quite exclusively.

A former top manager of one of the two major banks involved said in an interview with the Handelsblatt: “Such a quick action does not create trust.” There were doubts as to whether the financial regulator had asked the right questions early enough. Mark Dowding, chief investment strategist at Bluebay, an asset manager that has lost money on Credit Suisse subordinated bonds, says the “authorities have taken some wrong steps”.