Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Jun 13, 2025

Swiss Parliament Rejects $129.82 Billion Aid For Credit Suisse-UBS Merger

Swiss Parliament Rejects $129.82 Billion Aid For Credit Suisse-UBS Merger

While the upper house had approved the government's contribution to the rescue package, parliament's lower, and larger chamber, pushed back again on Wednesday.
Switzerland's parliament rejected on Wednesday the government's 109 billion Swiss francs ($120.82 billion) aid for Credit Suisse's merger with UBS, leaving the fallen bank's hastily arranged rescue without a largely symbolic parliamentary blessing.

While the upper house had approved the government's contribution to the rescue package, parliament's lower, and larger chamber, pushed back again on Wednesday.

It had already rejected the proposals in a late night session on Tuesday, forcing the upper house to find a solution when it met again on Wednesday.

Seeking a compromise, the upper house passed changes to the measure on Wednesday morning, but it was not enough to sway the lower house lawmakers.

They turned it down by 103 votes to 71 in favour, a similar level of opposition to the night before.

Speaking just before the lower house vote, Cedric Wermuth, the co-president of the Social Democrats said the party just could not support the funding.

While the government's commitment, made using emergency law, cannot be overturned, the vote marks a symbolic rebuke for the authorities, whose decision to largely bypass the nation's legislative has angered many politicians.

"This decision has no impact on the takeover of Credit Suisse decided on March 19," the Swiss Finance Ministry said after the vote.

The support package had already been given binding approval by the parliament's finance delegation, due to the urgency of the matter, it said.

"The funds have already been fully committed," it added.

Lawmakers who backed an approval of the deal, voiced concern about Switzerland's image.

"It doesn't really matter what we decide in detail, but it would really send a bad signal if these loans were rejected," said Eva Herzog, who is a member of the Council of States, the upper house, before the vote.

Following a day of heated debates held in the country's four national languages, that continued into early morning hours, the upper house passed changes aimed at winning over the sceptics.

They included a proposal for Switzerland's federal government to draft an amendment to the country's Banking Act. Its aim would be to reduce the risks posed by systemically relevant banks, such as Credit Suisse and UBS for Switzerland, by, for example, raising capital requirements and restricting bonuses.

Addressing parliament before the vote on Wednesday, finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter told lawmakers to consider what message their rejection of the rescue would send to the world.

"What signal do you want to give internationally, are the institutions reliable, do you value financial market stability in a place where you already have a financial centre with a certain importance?"

Lawmakers were recalled to the country's capital, Bern, for the rare extraordinary session to discuss the Swiss government's open chequebook response to a collapse that many in the country have blamed on Credit Suisse's top management.

Last month's shotgun marriage which saw the bank taken over by rival UBS for 3 billion Swiss francs and propped up with more than 250 billion Swiss francs in guarantees and support has drawn widespread criticism.

The government invoked Swiss emergency law to sign it off to the ire of the almost 250 lawmakers left without a say.

"The use of emergency law has reached a level in the last three years that is beginning to annoy me," Hansjoerg Knecht, a member of Parliament's upper house, said on Tuesday.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Pentagon Initiates Review of AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Pact
Meta to Invest $15 Billion in Scale AI to Advance AGI Goals
Rare Cancer Cases Triple Among Millennials, Alarming Doctors
G7 Finance Ministers Convene in Canada with Focus on Ukraine and Trade Tariffs
UK Spending Review Prioritizes Health and Defence Amid Budget Constraints
US Raises Security Concerns Over Proposed Chinese Embassy in London
Defined Benefit Pension Reforms Expected to Unlock Limited Investment
UK Industrial Strategy Launch Delayed Amid Budget Negotiations
Crick Institute Seeks Additional Funding to Attract International Scientists
Zia Yusuf Returns to Reform UK in New Role After Brief Resignation
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Scientist Returns Royal Society Prize in Protest Over Elon Musk's Fellowship
Chancellor Proposes 'Housing Bank' and £25 Billion Social Housing Boost
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows in May Amid Consumer Caution
Home Secretary Directed to Find Budget Savings to Protect Police Funding
Rolls-Royce Secures Government Backing for UK's First Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Domestic Buyers Capitalize on London Property Market as Non-Doms Retreat
Nvidia CEO Criticizes UK's Digital Infrastructure Amid £1 Billion AI Investment Pledge
UK Commits Additional £11.5 Billion to Sizewell C Nuclear Project
UK Unemployment Reaches Near Four-Year High as Wage Growth Slows
Chancellor Reinstates Winter Fuel Payments for Majority of Pensioners
Simone Biles and Riley Gaines Clash Over Transgender Athletes in Women's Sports
California Governor Disputes National Guard Deployment Amid Rising Tensions
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
US and China Engage in Trade Discussions in London Amid Ongoing Tensions
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
Germany's Merz Signals Continued U.S. Reliance After Meeting with Trump
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning Digital ID Project Launches in UK
Qualcomm to Acquire UK's Alphawave in $2.4 Billion Deal
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
×