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Credit Suisse parliamentary probe ventures into the unknown

Person cleaning a Credit Suisse sign
The inquiry must dig under the surface to find out how the Credit Suisse collapse was handled. © Keystone / Michael Buholzer

A rare Swiss parliamentary investigation must first define its method of engagement before launching into a probe of Credit Suisse’s demise.

The cross-party parliamentary commission of inquiry will spend the next 12 to 15 months assessing the crisis of Switzerland’s second largest bank before producing a final verdict.

+ Read our Explainer: What is a parliamentary inquiry committee?

The fifth such investigation in Swiss history is the first to operate under new conditions set down by parliament in 2003. “We are operating on partially on unknown terrain,” the commission’s president Isabelle Chassot told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

The committee will take until September 11 to establish how it will work within the bounds of its legal mandate and to establish a communications system.

+ Relive the drama of the Credit Suisse takeover

It will then set about examining the role of Credit Suisse, the finance ministry, federal emergency laws, the financial regulator and the central bank in the debacle.

The body has a CHF5 million budget and its 14-person committee is composed of seven members from each parliamentary chamber. 

In March, Credit Suisse was forced into an emergency takeover by rival UBS to avert bankruptcy. The demise of the 167-year-old banking institution sent shockwaves through the global financial system and is viewed as a grave embarrassment in Switzerland.

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