Switzerland Today
Greetings from Bern,
Where 120 kilometres to the west, Credit Suisse executives in their Zurich HQ woke to a double regulatory hangover this morning, and not for the first time this year. This, and the rest of the Swiss stories of the day, is in Wednesday's briefing.
In the news – funding on the Horizon, animal rights ranking
- The government will allocate up to CHF400 million ($434 million) this year for scientists to participate in Europe’s flagship Horizon research programme. The move became necessary after the EU relegated Switzerland to non-associated country status in the programme, notably cutting off Swiss researchers from funding by the European Commission. It’s all linked to a larger dispute between the pair, triggered by the Swiss government walking away from seven years of negotiations on an overarching bilateral agreement with Brussels in May.
- Switzerland has been ranked 10th in an international survey of animal rights. The survey by a US company was based on nine criteria, including recognition of animal sentience and animal suffering, laws against animal cruelty and the use of pesticide per hectare of cropland. Top scores of the 65 countries examined went to Luxembourg, Britain and Austria; Iran, Vietnam and China did worst. Next February, Swiss voters will have the final say on a proposal by animal rights groups to ban animal testing.
Credit Suisse – paying dear for spy and tuna history
Double whammy for Credit Suisse this morning as the bank woke up with two hangovers: the first, a CHF439 million fine for its role in Mozambique’s “tuna bonds” corruption scandal from 2013 to 2016; the second, a damning audit by Swiss financial watchdog FINMA, which said the bank showed “serious organisational shortcomings” (not to mention reputational faux-pas) by snooping on seven current and former employees between 2016 and 2019. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that the decisions came out the exact same day. But that doesn’t make it better: the bank is under pressure, especially after the expensive collapse of clients Greensill and Archegos earlier this year. What does the latest news mean?
The Inside Paradeplatz website didn’t go easy on the “fallen” CS leadership: “they carry the blame for the downfall of an institution which belongs to Switzerland”, it wroteExternal link today. The website, which has a knack for quotable insults, also called the whole affair a “king-size moral meltdown”, and rebranded the bank “Credit Spy”. But even at the (slightly) more measured NZZ, which gives Credit Suisse less of a beating, the outlookExternal link isn’t pretty: while the bank might claim these latest rulings “draw a line under” the cases, many questions are open, the paper writes. Such questions include: “why does Credit Suisse keep getting diddled by phonies, gamblers, or criminals from within its own ranks?” and “Why does management ignore bright warning lights for months and years?”
The man responsible for trying to answer these questions is current chairman, António Horta-Osório. However, for the man who only took the job up in April this year, the short-term profit hits and long-term reputational risk to come mean he has his work cut out. As Reuters puts itExternal link, Horta-Osório’s “exorcism [of the ghosts of CS’ past] has only just begun”. Good luck to him…
More smoking, less drinking
Yesterday, a Senate health committee approved a plan to revamp Swiss cannabis laws. The idea is to give the state a bigger role in the production and sale of cannabis, with the goal of “weeding out [pun intended] the illegal market by getting rid of prohibition”. And though the decision is just at committee level, and change is years away, it’s a clear “opening” towards legalisation, writes RTSExternal link.
Interestingly, the news in this morning’s Tages-Anzeiger was dwarfed by a larger featureExternal link, on the same page, about a new challenge to another narcotic – alcohol. “Is 0.0 permille also for Switzerland?” it asks, referring to debates in the EU about zero tolerance approaches to drink driving (in Switzerland, the limit is 0.5 permilles). Of course this only refers to driving; there are no plans afoot to ban pubs. But as statistics, the rise of non-alcoholic beer, and features about teetotaller youthsExternal link show, alcohol is having a hard time of it these days. The demise of one drug, the rise of another…
Al fresco justice
20 Minuten carried out a reader survey today about a Covid-sceptic man on trial in canton GlarusExternal link for refusing to wear a mask at a public demonstration, then refusing to pay the resulting fine. When he also refused to wear a mask during the trial, the judge decided to improvise: “since you have a problematic history with mask-wearing, proceedings will move outdoors,” the magistrate said. An open-air trial! A quarter of 20 Minuten readers thought this idea was “good”, and that an individual’s wishes should be “considered”. Some 57% said it was “uncalled for” – courtrooms don’t do requests, they said. And 17% said they didn’t care. At least, if it had started to snow, the defendant’s no-doubt naturally invincible immune system means the court wouldn’t have had to adjourn.
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