The president of Switzerland’s financial regulator has called for additional powers to take banks to task in response to the collapse of Credit Suisse.

In the wake of numerous mismanagement decisions, Credit Suisse ultimately was hastily sold to local rival UBS in the wake of the financial turmoil that emerged after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The takeover was bankrolled with over $220 billion of state support and guarantees, with the deal effectively wiping out the value of Credit Suisse’s shareholders.

Following the final shareholder meeting of Credit Suisse on Tuesday, Marlene Amstad, president of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), denied that it was in part to blame for the collapse. In comments to journalists she said that it was the responsibility of bank management to avoid such a situation, and that regulations alone cannot solve a crisis of confidence.

The president called for more power to penalise rule breaking banks, with Switzerland’s largely hands-off approach to industry leaving the regulator with little power to effect change.

She said: "FINMA has no power to fine. It's an exception when compared with other regulators.

"FINMA is keen to ensure that we can make our work more visible to the public in future – as our supervisory colleagues in other countries are often allowed to do.”

While UBS’ acquisition of Credit Suisse has been agreed, regulators around the world are yet to give it their sign off. One country where UBS reportedly need not worry is in the UK, with Reuters reporting that the Bank of England has approved the deal.

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