Top Swiss banker denies image problem for Swiss financial institutes

Rohner has been president of the Swiss Bankers Association since last September. (Archive picture) Keystone/Sang Tan

The president of the Swiss Bankers Association, Marcel Rohner, has warned of the negative impact of the high level of debt worldwide.

“The debt level is gigantic. This is a very worrying situation,” is quoted in the Wednesday edition of the Blick newspaper.

He said especially countries with high debts would have the incentive to solve the problem by increasing inflation. This would be to the detriment of savers and old-age provisions, he said.

But economic growth would be a better solution to pay back the debts thanks to higher tax revenues.

Rohner, who took up the post of Bankers Association a year ago, said there is there is a risk of a recession.

He added that Switzerland is in a relatively good position with lower debts compared with other countries, also because of the debt brake mechanism which requires the government to balance the budget over six years.

Russian assets

Rohner said Swiss banks had to act very cautiously in their dealings with Russian clients, but they had done their homework.

He said Switzerland financial institutes had been applying ‘know your customer’ rules since Russia’s invasion of the Crimea peninsula in 2014.

He rejected allegations that Swiss banks might try to circumvent international financial sanctions against Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

“We have been transparent and tell our customers what our rules are. The same could be expected from other countries,” he said.

Earlier this year, Rohner estimated that up to CHF200 billion ($209 billion) in Russian assets were deposited in Swiss banks. He added that the figure included Russian clients who are not subject to international sanctions.

“We don’t have an image problem, we have a problem because we’re successful,” he said.