Editorial

As we publish this issue of the Swiss Review of Business and Financial Market Law, the banking world has taken a dramatic turn: Credit Suisse saw the end of a 167-year-old history, as it was humbled into a merger with UBS, the other Swiss banking giant and one of its fiercest competitors. The marriage was strongly encouraged by the Swiss authorities who, by emergency legislation, provided liquidity assistance as well as guarantees while writing off the bank’s convertible bonds and leaving the shareholders with only a fraction of the last reported stock market value of the shares. For UBS, this carries opportunities, but also risks, as Credit Suisse’s recent history has been paved with expensive risk management failures. For the Swiss taxpayers, this means the creation of a mega-bank whose balance sheet exceeds the country’s GDP.

The recent developments have put an even brighter spotlight on the role of banks in the economy and the costs of their failure. They will doubtlessly…