Report of the Swiss Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the Credit Suisse affair: the mountain gave birth to a mouse

By Dario Item

It was a unique opportunity to identify responsibility and engage in self-criticism. However, the Swiss Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry mostly shrugged it off and turned a blind eye.

It is particularly disappointing that the Commission failed to assess the accuracy of the statements made by Credit Suisse representatives (Lehmann and Körner), FINMA, and the Federal Council (Keller-Sutter) during the week of March 15, 2023. It is clear that at the very least, misleading statements were made that artificially inflated the markets. Even more disappointing is that the Commission invokes the principle of separation of powers—apparently a contradiction in terms—to avoid confronting the legitimacy of the AT1 write-down. We are discussing as much as 16 billion CHF in bonds that disappeared, which certainly deserved more thorough consideration. Investors eagerly awaited clear answers from politicians—answers that would clarify whether the rules were followed or violated in the Credit Suisse case.

Regrettably, this trust has been repeatedly betrayed. Swiss politics has shown its limitations. The Commission turned out to be yet another unnecessary waste of resources—a sad chapter for the rule of law.

The overall situation is quite disheartening. Investors have been waiting more than a year and a half for the Swiss Federal Administrative Court to provide FINMA’s and UBS’s responses to their appeals.

I find no justification for this delay. Many investors are now turning their attention and hope to U.S. courts—which are moving much more swiftly than those in Switzerland—and to international arbitration, options that are largely inaccessible to Swiss investors.

In its conclusions to the more than 500-page report, the Commission states that it has drawn important lessons, which it recommends to all relevant authorities. I would argue that the investors who have been misled have certainly learned their own lessons.