Swiss regulator calls for more power after Credit Suisse debacle

By John O’Donnell

BERN (Reuters) -Switzerland’s financial regulator FINMA called for more power to penalise and name and shame banks that break the rules, following the collapse of the country’s second-biggest bank, Credit Suisse.

The bank had to be rescued last month through a shotgun merger with bigger rival UBS engineered by Swiss authorities after the 167-year-old institution got ensnared in market turmoil unleashed by the collapse of two mid-sized U.S. lenders.

“Our instruments hit their limits in extreme cases as seen in the case of Credit Suisse,” FINMA president Marlene Amstad told journalists. Amstad said it would be worth building these powers.

“FINMA has no power to fine,” she said, adding that she would welcome such a power. “It’s an exception when compared with other regulators.”

She also said that most of the regulator’s probes into banks had to remain secret to protect stability, adding that this should change.

“FINMA is keen to ensure that we can make our work more visible to the public in future – as our supervisory colleagues in other countries are often allowed to do,” she said.

On Tuesday, Credit Suisse’s chairman apologised for taking the bank to the brink of bankruptcy, as he faced shareholder fury and calls for consequences for those responsible for the rapid demise of a national icon.

UBS management will seek to reassure shareholders later on Wednesday that the takeover bankrolled by the Swiss authorities can work.