Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

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.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×