Amstad’s comments are the first public statements on the deal since she and Finma CEO Urban Angehrn said in the Swiss press that the deal was the only viable option, while also defending the regulator’s role in the hastily-assembled transaction. They back up claims by Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter who said on March 25 that Credit Suisse wouldn’t have survived another day of trading amid a crisis of investor confidence.
Switzerland’s banking regulator said it considered putting Credit Suisse Group AG into bankruptcy before deciding on the takeover by UBS Group AG, as the risk of contagion was too great.
Finma scoped out various rescue options before the day the bank was sold in the government-backed deal. The lender had faced an “unprecedented” bank run, Finma President Marlene Amstad said at a press conference on Wednesday in the Swiss capital Bern.
