© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Swiss flag is pictured above a brand of Credit Suisse in Bern, Switzerland, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s monetary regulator desires to debate the flexibility to claw again bonuses from bankers as a part of stronger powers following the autumn of Credit Suisse and sale to UBS.
“The question is on the table and must be discussed now,” FINMA Chairwoman Marlene Amstad instructed newspaper Schweiz am Wochenende, when requested about the suitable to demand bonuses be repaid.
“The Credit Suisse case shows that for decades the bank has incurred losses and at the same time paid out high bonuses,” she stated within the interview on Saturday.
“We therefore need a better legal basis so that FINMA can intervene earlier and more systematically.”
FINMA has already demanded stronger powers to supervise lenders in future after it got here beneath fireplace for its tepid response to the mounting issues at Credit Suisse earlier than the financial institution’s crash in March.
The regulator has beforehand stated it needed the flexibility to difficulty fines, publish particulars of enforcement proceedings, and enhance accountability by establishing a algorithm that establish particular obligations for senior executives – mirroring a framework adopted in Britain.
FINMA can’t presently train these powers, with the choice on whether or not to grant them in future a matter for the Swiss parliament, stated Amstad, who has led the watchdog since 2021.
“In the money business, money plays a role,” she instructed the newspaper. “That’s why we need fines and why we need the right incentives when it comes to remuneration.”
The energy to publicise FINMA’s proceedings in future would additionally assist, Amstad stated.
“We have teeth and use them, but we should also be allowed to show them,” she stated. “Today, the law requires that many of our actions remain publicly invisible, which in turn can be interpreted as inaction.
“The Credit Suisse case has as soon as once more proven us how essential it’s to tell different market members and the general public. With this strict obligation of confidentiality relating to measures taken, Switzerland is an exception internationally.”
FINMA additionally needed to have a say in remuneration fashions at banks, though this didn’t imply setting wages, Amstad stated.
“That’s not our job,” she stated. “But we need more legal means to intervene in the remuneration system.”
