PostFinance is one of five ‘too big to fail’ Swiss banks that must comply with enhanced supervision. This includes putting enough capital aside to cope with potential losses.
Finma has decided that PostFinance’s capital buffer needs to increase. The bank challenged this ruling, saying it was flawed, in particular Finma’s interest rate risk assessment.
But the court disagreed, meaning PostFinance must now comply with the capital rise demand. The exact amount is not known, but the court filings suggest it is in excess of CHF270 million ($241 million).
One of Switzerland’s other ‘too big to fail’ banks, Credit Suisse, will disappear as an independent entity this year. In March, it was rescued by a UBS takeover after experiencing a bank run.
Later this month, Finma will issue its latest annual verdict on the safety of Switzerland’s big five banks.
One of these banks, the Raiffeisen group, recently announced that it had passed the Finma review with flying colours.
PostFinance is banned from issuing mortgage or business loans for competition reasons because it is majority owned by the state. Parliament denied a government bid to remove these restrictions last year.
But the current banking crisis has rekindled the subject with some politicians suggesting that PostFinance should be empowered to absorb some of Credit Suisse’s domestic retail business.
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