Swiss Regulator Prepares For Euro Debt Crisis
By SwissInfo
The director of the Swiss financial market regulator (Finma) has urged the country’s two main banks to continue building up their equity capital.
In an interview with the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, Patrick Raaflaub said the UBS and Credit Suisse had above average amount of capital in an international comparison, but it was not clear how quickly this capital could be mobilised to soften the shock of a new financial crisis.
He described the situation at the global money markets as “tense”, but refused to comment on particular measures Finma was taking toward individual institutions.
Raaflaub also declined to comment reports that a special committee will meet in the coming days to discuss the possible impact of the euro zone debt crisis on the big banks.
The committee, which was set up after the 2008 government bailout of UBS, includes Raaflaub, senior officials of the finance ministry and a vice chairman of the Swiss National Bank.
