Swiss financial market regulator FINMA has ordered an audit into Credit Suisse's management leading up to its acquisition by UBS in 2023, according to Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung.
The audit, which focuses on the 15 months preceding the state-orchestrated merger in March 2023, involves interviews with nearly a dozen current or former employees of both banks. FINMA commissioned law firm Wenger Plattner to conduct these interviews, following a "secret" directive issued in September 2023, indicating the regulator's intent to scrutinize Credit Suisse's crisis management.
The interviews aim to determine whether Credit Suisse's former management misled authorities. FINMA, Wenger Plattner, the Swiss finance ministry, and the Swiss National Bank did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment, while UBS declined to comment.
The investigation addresses crucial questions, including when it became evident that Credit Suisse could not be salvaged, the bank's liquidity and equity status, and the overall effectiveness of its management. In a December report, FINMA highlighted Credit Suisse's near-collapse months before the takeover and advocated for enhanced oversight powers.
A Swiss parliamentary committee investigating the Credit Suisse collapse is expected to release its report later this year. In April, Swiss authorities introduced measures, including stricter capital requirements for UBS, to prevent a recurrence of the Credit Suisse crisis. Parliament is set to debate these proposals following the parliamentary report's publication.
Critics argue that Swiss authorities could have maintained Credit Suisse as an independent entity but were slow to act and should have provided stronger assurances of its survival. Authorities defend their actions, attributing the collapse to Credit Suisse's internal failures.
