Switzerland’s Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter denied government responsibility for the near-collapse of Credit Suisse Group AG in March, and instead called the bank’s management “arsonists.”
Asked if her predecessor Ueli Maurer had done his job well, Keller-Sutter, who took over the post at the beginning of the year, told Tages-Anzeiger, “you have to be careful not to confuse firefighters and arsonists. The board of directors and executive board are responsible for Credit Suisse – and not the government.”
Credit Suisse had requested a loan of 170 billion francs ($188 billion) on the day the takeover by crosstown rival UBS Group AG was announced, she told Tribune de Geneve. As part of the government-brokered deal, the Swiss National Bank agreed to provide 200 billion francs of liquidity, on top of the central bank’s existing facilities, with half of that backed by the state.
In addition to other credit lines, Credit Suisse has currently tapped 5 billion francs from the government-backed facility, according to Keller-Sutter. That’s down from 10 billion francs as of the end of April. The minister said that the money “should be repaid soon.”
Credit Suisse declined to comment.
--With assistance from Paula Doenecke.
(Updates with Credit Suisse declined to comment.)
