UBS-Credit Suisse deal: Swiss lawmakers slam govt

The move, described by President Alain Berset as the best option for restoring market confidence, created a banking behemoth with assets more than twice the size of the Swiss economy.

Parliament, like shareholders, had no say in the deal, but it was signed off on by a small group of senior MPs — the so-called financial delegation — on March 19. That means the takeover cannot be thwarted by legislation. One of the delegation’s members, Peter Hegglin of the Center Alliance, stated that there had been no other option, though he regretted the situation.

“The decision wasn’t easy for me. The banking industry was warned by the 2008 crisis — unfortunately, Credit Suisse’s leadership didn’t learn from the crisis. Like in a dramatic tragedy, the managers destroyed values and made themselves rich in the process.”