Banks settle in Parmalat dispute
Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse have settled claims with Italian dairy company Parmalat in disputes arising from its 2003 collapse.
Parmalat collapsed under debts of €14 billion (SFr22.15 billion) and was later re-listed on the Milan stock exchange.
The company launched a series of lawsuits for billions of dollars against banks including Citicorp, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Bank of America in an attempt to recoup losses for the company and investors.
Parmalat’s new CEO Enrico Bondi has accused the banks and former auditors of helping the firm’s former management hide debt and inflate results. The banks have always denied any wrongdoing.
UBS confirmed it would pay €150 million for the claim and €35 million in damages, but said the settlement would have a “negligible effect” on its earnings.
For its part, Credit Suisse will pay €172.5 million and announced all claims had been settled with the group.
Credit Suisse added that the settlement was not an admission of liability and it had “at all times acted properly in its dealings with the Parmalat Group”.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.