Latest articles from Switzerland

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The ties that bind commodities players

June 1, 2012

Emerging market growth is changing the strategy for the commodities business at the same time that tighter regulation is altering the relationship between banks, merchant traders and investment funds.

We need a rule book on how to fail

January 3, 2012

Strengthening the legal framework to manage an international financial failure does not make failures more likely.

Credit Suisse defied CoCo critics with $2bn issue

May 4, 2011

Contingent capital is still the subject of furious debate. Some have called it a dangerous instrument, while others say it may not do what regulators want. Some argue that it will be difficult to create a market big enough to absorb the needs of the banking sector if it becomes a compulsory part of the capital structure. But none of this stopped Credit Suisse's $2bn issue from being a storming success. 

Rebuilding UBS: Can UBS revive its business and reputation?

March 3, 2010

UBS has endured a catastrophic three years. Now, under the stewardship of former Credit Suisse chief Oswald Grübel, the bank is attempting to restore its reputation and revive its business. Geraldine Lambe reports.

UBS returns to its roots

June 4, 2009

Investment banking losses and US tax evasion charges sent clients of the leading wealth manager scurrying for the exits. But the crisis has renewed UBS's determination to succeed in private banking. Writer Philip Alexander

Roche's perfect storm

April 7, 2009

Drug company Roche made a rare foray into the markets recently, with BNP Paribas being among the bookrunners putting together its record-breaking euro bond deal to finance the purchase of US biotech firm Genentech. Writer Edward Russell-Walling

Clear view curtails crisis fallout

January 2, 2008

Credit Suisse fared well during the subprime crisis. Brian Caplen asks CEO Brady Dougan what underlies the bank’s new stability and what it is planning for the year ahead.

Switzerland

January 2, 2006

UBS
Peter Wuffli, CEO

Private banking

June 6, 2005

The other axis on which the fortunes of the two rivals have recently pivoted has been the quiet world of Swiss private banking. In 2004, private banking and wealth management contributed 38% of UBS’s pre-tax profits, almost matching the 40% from the investment bank. At Credit Suisse, the proportion is even higher, with the private bank alone accounting for 42% of the group’s net income last year.

Tower of Strength

June 6, 2005

The changes in fortune of the two giant Swiss banks, Credit Suisse and UBS, offer lessons in growth strategy to bank CEOs. Geraldine Lambe and Sophie Röell look at the strategies that have worked and those that have not.

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