Her decline Credit Suisse dealt a serious blow to his prestige Switzerland as the world’s leading asset management center, calling into question its reputation for stability, regulatory framework and corporate governance, experts warn. Ruined by years of scandals and losses, the bank suffered a major crisis of confidence for months before its collapse was recorded just a few days last week.

At that time, the Swiss authorities acted as intermediaries in the acquisition of the bank by its biggest competitor. UBS. UBS itself had to be bailed out by the government in 2008 after a disastrous run on US mortgage-backed securities. The collapse of Credit Suisse and its consequences “will be very devastating,” said Arturo Bris, an economics professor at the International Institute for Business Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, adding that it could benefit rival financial centers.

It should be noted that Switzerland manages international assets in the amount of 2.6 trillion. dollars, according to a 2021 study by Deloitte, making it the largest financial center in the world, ahead of the UK and the US. But it faces competition from other centres, including Luxembourg and especially Singapore, which have grown rapidly in recent years.

“The bankers in Singapore will now be pouring champagne,” Bryce told Reuters news agency. He added that the credibility of Switzerland as a stable and predictable country has been undermined by moves such as the decision to sell bondholders to Credit Suisse.

After the buyback deal, Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders will receive nothing, and shareholders, who would normally rank below bondholders in terms of compensation, will receive $3.23 billion. And the Swiss Bankers’ Association tried to portray bravery in dealing with the crisis, presenting the bailout planned by the government, the central bank and the regulator as a sign of strength.

“The Swiss financial sector has been able to cope with a serious problem of one of the main factors,” Marcel Rohner, chairman of the Swiss Banking Authority and former CEO of UBS, told reporters on Tuesday. “In light of this, I see a prosperous future for the financial center because we have hundreds of very well capitalized banks and very successful asset management banks.” However, the number of banks has decreased to 239 in 2021 from 356 in 2002. And the number of employees since 2011 has decreased to 91,000 people from 108,000 initially.