Page 4/8  Zurich, 22 June 2023 Thomas Jordan, Martin Schlegel and Andréa M. Maechler  News conference  Globally active banks – observations on the crisis at Credit Suisse  As far as the globally active Swiss banks are concerned, this year’s Financial Stability Report focuses on the crisis at Credit Suisse and its acquisition by UBS. The SNB supported this acquisition, in particular, through the provision of ample liquidity assistance. In addition to its existing liquidity facilities, the SNB deployed two new instruments based on emergency law: ELA+ and the public liquidity backstop (PLB). Comprehensive lessons need to be drawn from the crisis at Credit Suisse. The goal must be to continue to strengthen banks’ resilience in order to prevent, wherever possible, a loss of confidence such as that seen in the case of Credit Suisse. If a crisis does still occur, a broad range of effective options must be available. From the SNB’s perspective, three observations are especially important here. First, compliance with capital requirements does not provide absolute protection against a loss of confidence. Credit Suisse was always fully compliant with all regulatory capital requirements, even at the peak of the crisis. Clients, market participants and rating agencies, however, were increasingly casting doubt on the bank’s fundamental resilience. They also questioned its ability to successfully implement the announced strategic transformation plan. Ultimately, Credit Suisse lost the confidence of the markets. Second, its AT1 capital instruments were written down when state support became unavoidable.
Monetary policy cannot fine-tune economic developments, but it can prevent the largest effects from occurring when the economy is exposed to disturbances. In some situations, it may be appropriate to hedge against particularly unfavourable developments. Norges Bank will continuously assess the effects of changes in interest rates and other new information concerning economic developments. Thank you for your attention. 6  BIS Review 80/2006  BIS Review 80/2006  7  8  BIS Review 80/2006  BIS Review 80/2006  9  10  BIS Review 80/2006  BIS Review 80/2006  11  12  BIS Review 80/2006  BIS Review 80/2006  13