Q&A: Finma’s Branson on Swiss banks and the Swiss franc

Swiss bank regulators earned a reputation for conservatism – even among their peers – by quickly adopting a reinforced version of Basel III. But that was then, and Switzerland now needs to catch up on some issues, notably the leverage ratio, says Mark Branson, chief executive of the country’s prudential regulator

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Mark Branson, Finma (photo, Keystone)

Borrowing the terms of Aesop's well-known fable, Switzerland's post-crisis capital reforms were the hare to the rest of the world's tortoise. The country quickly agreed tougher capital standards than those advocated in Basel III and brought them into force earlier – the so-called ‘Swiss finish'.

But it turns out the Swiss may not be finished. While the hare raced past the line set by international regulators, then paused to catch its breath, the tortoise kept plodding steadily on, and now has a

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