March 15, 2023 is a date that will remain imprinted in financial history: the phone rings, and the Credit Suisse, one of the pillars of the Swiss banking institution, is about to collapse on the stock market. Four days later, on March 19, UBS steps in and takes it over for three billion francs. This event, which shook the global financial system and changed the Swiss one, was the subject of careful analysis by the journalist Mathilde Flour, Zurich correspondent for RTS.
To exactly one year March 15, 2024, it is released in bookstores "The fall, the Credit Suisse case” written by Farine and edited by Stefano Righi and published by Guerini e Associati, an independent publishing house specializing in non-fiction.
An accurate account of the Credit Suisse system
The book offers a minute report, accurate and precise of what happened to the Swiss banking institution, revealing a rotten architecture in which the bubble is the rule and the façade can fall at any moment.
The details of the cases of violation the international sanctions against Iran and Sudan, the rules on Covid, embezzlement, episodes of corruption in Africa, espionage, tax fraud, money laundering and involvement in drug trafficking are impressive. This sequence of scandals has cast a deep shadow over Credit Suisse and raised questions about ethical practices and governance within the institution.
The fall of Credit Suisse is not just a story of financial ruin, but can be seen as a warning to the entire system. Farine suggests that if this fall can be considered a warning, could help prevent future financial disasters and avoid what happened in the United States after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
from Preface di Stefano Righi:
"The fall of Credit Suisse can be useful to the system if it becomes a warning, if what happened in the United States after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers happens in Europe".
The authors
Mathilde Flour has been a journalist and Zurich correspondent for RTS (Radio Television Suisse) since November 2023, having worked for Le Temps since 2010. At Le Temps, she has been Zurich correspondent since 2017, allowing her to closely follow the transformation of the financial center Switzerland after the end of banking secrecy. Farine graduated from the Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and began her career at L'Agefi, before taking on roles of responsibility in the financial pages and economic and financial sections of Le Temps and L'Hebdo.
Stefano Righi has been a journalist for Corriere della Sera since 2000, specializing in finance with a focus on banks and insurance. He also writes a regular column in the weekly L'Economia. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of MF-Milano Finanza and wrote several books, including "The great scam: How the banks take our savings" (2016), published by Guerini.
