Axel Weber in a dark suit, Ralph Hamers in a black scarf, Lukas Gähwiler in a fashionable coat: three bankers wait in front of the impressive seat of government until they are admitted.
Inaugural visit to Finance Minister Ueli Maurer, meeting with other high officials and influential politicians in the federal city.
Normal, said a spokesman for UBS yesterday. As the new head of a systemically important bank, it is clear that Ralph Hamers is paying his respects to the government.
Today then in the NZZ hit the headlinethat the banks absolutely want to earn something with Covid-19 interest.
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Therefore, as recently decided by the National Council, these should by no means remain fixed at zero for the entire duration.
You never know what will happen to the interest. If these should one day increase contrary to expectations, the SME bailout from spring would not be a happy ending for the financial institutions.
But to the steep negative business.
With a difference of just one vote, the large chamber voted three weeks ago for a fixed zero interest rate for Covid 19 loans of up to CHF 500,000 and also a fixed 0.5 percent for loans of up to CHF 20 million.
With today’s NZZ article on the front page, lobbying against this decision starts. The finance houses fear that if they fix themselves, they will no longer get any good business.
This does not match the earlier statements. The heads of UBS, CS, ZKB and Co. emphasized that they would donate any profits from the Covid program.
You want to help without benefiting yourself, so the message. Only your own costs would have to be covered.
Now everything looks different. The bank bosses stand on their back legs, so that the suggestion of Linksgrün after a fixation for the whole term of up to 8 years in the further political process still overturns.
The odds are intact. The result of October 30th was 90 to 89 votes, four national councilors remained undecided as to how the news agency SDA reported.
The decision of the National Council means a “subsequent change” to the “rules of the game”, say the banks, and they speak in the NZZ – of “hundreds of millions” of potential costs for the financial center.
The move shows: It’s about business after all – and not about the verbatim solidarity.
Because if the banks get away with their demand to keep the Covid interest rate variable, then they are twice the winners.
Not only would you continue to earn well on the interest, but you would also get around loan defaults with SMEs suffering from the virus.
For such a coup to have a chance of success, strong lobbying in Bern is required.
Yesterday’s inaugural visit from UBS CEO Ralph Hamers, together with his President and Chairman of UBS Switzerland, would certainly be helpful.
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