Severfield Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 24/3/2023 20:53

1 EUR = 0.9896 CHF



The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 24 Mar 2023 at 8:52 PM.

[waldron] 24/3/2023 19:32

certainly not happy with sterling getting weaker against the euro

[waldron] 24/3/2023 19:30

could the swissie again be getting stronger

[waldron] 24/3/2023 19:29

1 EUR = 0.9897 CHF

The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 24 Mar 2023 at 7:28 PM.

[waldron] 24/3/2023 07:57

1 EUR = 0.9932 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 24 Mar 2023 at 7:56 AM.

[waldron] 24/3/2023 07:20

The Swiss claim the U.S. banking crisis ultimately toppled Credit Suisse. But are they right?


Published Fri, Mar 24 2023
2:10 AM EDT

Elliot Smith
@ElliotSmithCNBC

Key Points

Credit Suisse’s most recent share price plunge with the collapse of U.S.-based Silicon Valley Bank, but was compounded when the 167-year-old Swiss lender announced that it had found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting procedures.


Confirmation from top investor the Saudi National Bank that it could not provide any more funding to Credit Suisse then provided the final blow, prompting the announcement of a loan of up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54.2 billion) from the Swiss National Bank.


The loan intervention ultimately failed to restore investor confidence and Swiss authorities brokered the bank’s emergency sale to UBS for 3 billion Swiss francs over the weekend.




, Swiss authorities placed a heavy emphasis on the role of U.S. regional banking collapses in pushing the stricken Swiss lender to the brink.

Credit Suisse’s most recent share price plunge began with the collapse of U.S.-based Silicon Valley Bank, but was compounded when the 167-year-old Swiss institution announced that it had found “material weaknesses” in its financial reporting procedures.

Confirmation from top investor the Saudi National Bank that it could not provide any more funding to Credit Suisse then provided the final blow, prompting the announcement of a loan of up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54.2 billion) from the Swiss National Bank. By that point, Credit Suisse shares were down by around 98% from their all-time high in April 2007.

The loan intervention ultimately failed to restore investor confidence and Swiss authorities brokered the bank’s emergency sale to UBS for 3 billion Swiss francs over the weekend.

“The latest developments that emanated from the banks in the U.S. hit us at the most unfavorable moment. One time, like last year, we were able to overcome the deep market uncertainty, but not this second time,” Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann told a press conference on Sunday night.

“The accelerating loss of confidence and the escalation over the last few days have made it clear that Credit Suisse can no longer exist in its current form. We are happy to have found a solution, which I’m convinced will bring lasting stability and security for clients, staff, financial markets and to Switzerland.”

SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan also lamented the “U.S. banking crisis” for accelerating a “loss of confidence in Switzerland” which had repercussions for Credit Suisse’s liquidity.


The collapse of Credit Suisse is an ‘idiosyncratic’ issue, former UBS UK CEO says

However, the downward spiral of Credit Suisse’s share price and mounting asset outflows were underway long before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month. Swiss regulator FINMA has come under fire for allowing the situation to deteriorate as the bank spent years mired in losses and scandal.

Mark Yallop, chairman of the U.K.’s Financial Markets Standards Board and former U.K. CEO at UBS, told CNBC on Tuesday that he agreed with the broad assessment that Credit Suisse’s downfall was “idiosyncratic.”

“It’s unfortunate that the problems with some of the smaller U.S. banks in the last two or three weeks happened at the same time as this issue with Credit Suisse but the two are completely different and very largely unrelated,” he said.

“The issues at Credit Suisse are to do with a long history of revolving doors at the top of the firm in management terms, a changing plan, and on top of a series of operational risk and control and compliance problems.”

The final straw that sent the share price to an all-time low ahead of a 50 billion loan from the SNB last Thursday, which ultimately failed to restore market confidence in the bank, was the announcement from top investor the Saudi National Bank that it could not provide any more funding to Credit Suisse.
Financial products across the industry have become more toxic, Credit Suisse shareholder says

Financial products across the industry now more toxic: Credit Suisse shareholder

“One never knows with a bank collapse when the moment of crisis will come, but at that point, that was the moment when investors finally threw in the towel and said enough is enough, and the actions that we saw over the weekend became pretty much inevitable,” Yallop added.

What’s more, swift action from Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department has largely been credited with successfully stemming any potential contagion to the U.S. financial system, which begs the question of how much of the blame for Credit Suisse’s demise can really be apportioned to the SVB collapse.

By contrast, the Swiss banking and regulatory system has come under fire.

Steven Glass, managing director and analyst at Pella Funds Management, told CNBC last week that the plunge in Credit Suisse’s share price had been a long time coming, and that the loss of confidence of clients was actually crystalized by the bank’s exposure to the Greensill Capital collapse in 2021.

“The problem with Greensill, it was actually a huge issue, because that fund was marketed to a whole lot of [Credit Suisse’s] high-net-worth individual clients as a very safe fund, as a way to get yield in a low-yield world, and when that blew up, a whole lot of their franchise lost money and they basically lost trust in Credit Suisse,” Glass told CNBC’s “Capital Connection.”


Switzerland's reputation for financial stability has been 'washed away,' Opimas CEO says


In the aftermath of 9/11, new regulations forced Swiss banks to abandon the client secrecy that for centuries formed their modus operandi, and banks like Credit Suisse took on greater risk in a bid to retain their profitability and prevent high-net-worth clients from taking their money elsewhere, Glass argued.

He suggested that in this context, Credit Suisse losing the trust of its remaining high-net-worth individuals through Greensill, and a litany of other issues down the years, meant the bank “shot itself in the foot.”

“Yes, this has come at the same time as SVB and yes as Signature Bank and we can see why one might say it’s a broader banking crisis, but in actual fact, what we believe is that a lot of those banks actually had a problem with their business model, more than there being an overt banking crisis,” Glass concluded.

This was echoed by Octavio Marenzi, CEO of Opimas, who told CNBC’s Capital Connection on Tuesday that the Credit Suisse debacle meant Switzerland’s “carefully crafted, honed reputation” for financial stability “lies in tatters.”

[waldron] 24/3/2023 06:47

Despite the above slagging, the swissie continues to be basically at par with the euro

[waldron] 24/3/2023 05:51

1 EUR = 0.9923 CHF

The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 24 Mar 2023 at 5:50 AM.

[waldron] 23/3/2023 18:49

1 EUR = 0.9943 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 23 Mar 2023 at 6:48 PM.

[gibbs1] 23/3/2023 09:44

Swiss National Bank Raises Rates to 1.5% After Credit Suisse Fallout
23 March 2023 - 09:17AM
Dow Jones News


By Ed Frankl



Switzerland's central bank on Thursday increased interest rates for a fourth consecutive time, seeking to curb stubbornly high inflation relative to historic levels, as the country deals with the turmoil in its key banking sector after the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG.

The Swiss National Bank increased its policy rate by 50 basis points, to 1.5%, equaling its half-point increase at its prior December meeting.

It comes after Swiss inflation came in at 3.4% in February, accelerating from 3.3% in January, and above the SNB's target of between 0% and 2%.

The SNB said the rate rise was countering the renewed increase in inflationary pressure, and couldn't rule out additional rises in policy rates to ensure price stability over the medium term.

Still, Swiss inflation is well below that of the eurozone, where inflation was 8.5%.

The decision comes after the takeover of Credit Suisse by its crosstown rival UBS Group AG, with the central bank providing large amounts of liquidity assistance in an effort to halt uncertainty in financial markets.

The SNB said measures announced by the government, market regulator Finma and the bank had put a halt to the crisis.

Meanwhile, the central bank said inflation is likely to remain elevated, with forecasts now higher than previous ones made in December.

In its new inflation forecasts, the SNB puts average annual inflation at 2.6% for 2023, and 2.0% for 2024 and 2025. Overall, the country's gross domestic product is likely to increase by a modest 1% this year, it added.



Write to Ed Frankl at [e-mail]

-0-

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2023 05:02 ET (09:02 GMT)

[grupo guitarlumber] 23/3/2023 09:28

1 EUR = 0.9976 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 23 Mar 2023 at 9:26 AM.

still in a tight channel,no affect by interest rate hike

[ariane] 23/3/2023 08:09

rté


Swiss regulator defends its decision to write off Additional Tier 1 bonds

Updated / Thursday, 23 Mar 2023 07:33


Switzerland's financial market regulator FINMA has defended its decision to impose steep losses on Credit Suisse bond holders today, saying the decision was legally watertight.

On Sunday, Switzerland announced a multi-billion franc rescue of Credit Suisse, which will see it taken over by UBS.

As part of that deal the Swiss regulator ordered 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.49 billion) of its Additional Tier 1 debt to be written down to zero, while shareholders received some compensation.

"The AT1 instruments issued by Credit Suisse contractually provide that they will be completely written down in a 'viability event', in particular if extraordinary government support is granted," FINMA said.

"As Credit Suisse received extraordinary liquidity assistance loans secured by a federal default guarantee on 19 March 2023, these contractual conditions were met for the AT1 instruments issued by the bank," it added.

Tier 2 bonds will not be written down, FINMA said.

FINMA Director Urban Angehrn said that "a solution was found on Sunday to protect clients, the financial centre and the markets".

[waldron] 23/3/2023 06:36

1 EUR = 0.9993 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 23 Mar 2023 at 6:35 AM.

[waldron] 22/3/2023 19:08

1 EUR = 0.9975 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 22 Mar 2023 at 7:07 PM.

[waldron] 22/3/2023 15:08

1 EUR = 0.996 CHF



The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 22 Mar 2023 at 3:07 PM.

[sarkasm] 22/3/2023 11:37

1 EUR = 0.9953 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 22 Mar 2023 at 11:35 AM.

Amazingly stuck in a tight range

[waldron] 22/3/2023 07:05

Switzerland braces for wave of bank job losses


The collapse of Credit Suisse bank is raising concerns about the number of employees who will lose their jobs in the merger with UBS.


This content was published on March 21, 2023


Switzerland’s two largest banks employ more than 35,000 staff in their domestic market and many roles will be duplicated by the fusion.


Trade unions and the Swiss Bank Employees Association (SBEA) want clarity, particularly for Credit Suisse’s 16,000 Swiss workers.

They have demanded the establishment of a special taskforce to ease the pain of redundancies and to help people aged over-55 to find new employment.

The SBEA pointed out that Credit Suisse indirectly supports other jobs, such as building maintenance and catering professionals.

“In addition, tens of thousands of jobs outside of the banking industry would potentially be at risk,” the organisation stated.

The Swiss financial sector supports 230,600 full time posts, which is 5.5% of the total Swiss workforce. Banks directly employ some 150,500 of these workers.

UBS and Credit Suisse employ 1,700 people in Geneva, making up 10% of all bank jobs in the city.

+ A blow by blow account of the dramatic Credit Suisse takeover

“Hundreds of jobs are at stake, and it will be a matter of limiting social cuts,” said Geneva’s Economics Minister Fabienne Fischer.

In October, Credit Suisse had already announced 9,000 job cuts, including 2,000 in Switzerland. By the end of the year, 540 Swiss jobs had gone along with the closure of 14 of its 109 branches in Switzerland by the end of February.

Further afield, both big banks employ thousands of other staff around the world from Europe to Asia and the Americas.

Large financial centres such as London and New York are bracing themselves for a spate of redundancies.

In a conference call with analysts on Sunday, UBS CEO Ralph Hamers said the enlarged bank has targeted $8 billion (CHF7.4 billion) in cost savings by 2027. Around $6 billion of these savings will likely come from staff reductions, reports the Financial Times.
More
Why Switzerland needs workers from abroad

Switzerland is an attractive place to work and the country needs specialists. But work permits can be hard to come by.

[waldron] 22/3/2023 05:53

1 EUR = 0.9939 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 22 Mar 2023 at 5:52 AM.

[waldron] 21/3/2023 18:15

1 EUR = 0.9932 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 21 Mar 2023 at 6:14 PM.

[waldron] 21/3/2023 17:57

1 EUR = 0.9937 CHF


The Euro to Swiss Franc exchange rate (EUR CHF) as of 21 Mar 2023 at 5:56 PM.

[waldron] 21/3/2023 17:28

The rate i got today was 1.013

[waldron] 21/3/2023 17:24

Swiss government suspends deferred bonuses at Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse bankers face bonus suspensions after UBS rescue deal

By
James Booth

Tuesday March 21, 2023 5:17 pm

Deferred bonuses at Credit Suisse have been suspended by the Swiss government in the wake of the bank’s shotgun takeover by rival UBS.

The Swiss Federal Council said it was “temporarily suspending certain forms of variable remuneration for Credit Suisse employees,” in a 21 March statement.