Parliament names 14-head commission to probe Credit Suisse crash

UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, agreed to take over Credit Suisse, marking the first rescue of a global bank since the 2008 financial crisis © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

Switzerland’s parliament has announced the 14 members of a special commission that will look into Credit Suisse’s collapse and its subsequent rescue engineered by Swiss authorities.

Wednesday’s appointments, decided by parliament, marked one of the final steps needed for the panel to start its probe, with its exact mandate also yet due to be determined.

This is only the fifth time such a commission has been established in Switzerland’s modern history.

It follows a decision of two sub-committees last month to launch a deeper investigation into how the government, Swiss central bank and financial market regulator acted in the run up to the emergency rescue of Credit Suisse.

Under the rescue deal, UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, agreed to take over Credit Suisse, marking the first rescue of a global bank since the 2008 financial crisis.

The government has provided the banks with CHF109 billion ($121 billion) in financial guarantees to facilitate the deal, causing widespread uproar in Switzerland.

The commission will be chaired by Isabelle Chassot from the Centre Party, while two other members of her party will also take part.

The right-wing Swiss People’s Party and the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party will have three members each, the left-wing Social Democrats and Greens two members each and the centrist Liberal Green Party one member.

Parliament did not say when the commission will start work.