Credit Suisse Customers React with Anger and Relief Following Sale

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People are really angry at the leaders of Credit Suisse. Everyone is sad that Switzerland’s good reputation as a secure and reliable banking center has been damaged. Although people are glad that the authorities got involved to protect their deposits, they’re still worried about investing money in a bank which messed up with its own finances.

This weekend, the Swiss government stepped in to take control of Credit Suisse, which is the country’s second-biggest bank. This was done to protect the global financial system after two banks in the United States went bust. People on the streets of Switzerland were feeling different emotions about this news.

There’s a big merger going on that will combine two banks into a single, giant Swiss bank. Many people and customers are unsure of what this means for them and how the 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.25 billion) will affect the banking world. So everyone involved is waiting to see what happens next.

After leaving a big bank in Geneva, Ms. Elisabeth Pictet said that she had already put her money in two or three other banks. She wasn’t rich but believed that investing in local and regional ones could be beneficial for her in the long run.

Ms. Pictet, who’s husband is from a famous banking family in Switzerland, said that the government made a great choice to give reassurance for residents like her. Also, she mentioned that she has had no issues getting money out of banks.

An adult named Pictet is mad at a bank called Credit Suisse because their employees will no longer have jobs. He thinks it’s bad that UBS (another bank) will be the only big bank left and there won’t be competition anymore.

Credit Suisse was asked if they have advised their customers to manage their investments since the news of the deal came out on Sunday. A spokesperson from the bank answered that until everything is settled, it will be business as usual for Credit Suisse and its clients.

Around 50,000 workers of Credit Suisse might be affected by this combination with another bank. Most of them are based in Switzerland, and their union is asking that no one gets laid off until the end of this year and the government should provide jobs guarantee to them.

The group said that it’s unfair for companies to be given tax dollars from the government, but their employees get nothing. They also said that the federal government should attach conditions to its billions of dollar guarantees so it will benefit the employees.

This merger will affect a lot of people in Switzerland since almost all 8.5 million citizens have accounts with either UBS or Credit Suisse.

Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Sunday that a deal was made to protect people who have money in Credit Suisse. Even she, as a customer, is grateful for this outcome. She has accounts at both banks and believes everyone can now keep their jobs, do transactions and access their savings easily.

Octavio Marenzi, the CEO of consulting firm Opimas LLC, said that Credit Suisse’s depositors don’t need to worry about their money now. This comes after reports of people taking out billions of dollars quickly last week because they were confused about what would happen to the bank. The Swiss two biggest authorities, the central bank and the government, have since offered loans worth hundreds of billions of dollars to help protect the bank.

The Swiss National Bank has promised that any deposits in Credit Suisse are secure and safe, said Marenzi from Capital Markets. Even if the bank is going through tough times, you don’t need to worry about your money being stolen or lost.

However, it could be different if you had given Credit Suisse money for investing or wealth management services.

Marenzi said that customers were asking “why should I trust you to manage my money, if you can’t even manage your own?”. Swiss officials stepped in to save Credit Suisse from potential more trouble by ordering it to be taken over by UBS – this was because Western governments and big investors were pushing them very hard.

Credit Suisse was having difficulties before the recent U.S. bank crisis, like making losses in a type of investment called a hedge fund, getting involved with spying and not stopping money laundering by a cocaine cartel from Bulgaria.

In the city of Geneva, people have sentimental feelings about Credit Suisse because it has been around since the railway system started to develop in the mid-1800s.

Mokhtar Zada, a 78 year old retired worker from Afghanistan who has a Credit Suisse account, said that if Credit Suisse closed, he was not worried because he has an account in UBS and could just move his money over there.

Zada was sad, holding a special savings booklet that he had received in 1965. He said it’s really unfortunate that the bank, which had been around for almost 170 years, is disappearing without any warning. Courtney Bonnell reported on this news from London.