SNB - BOTH BANKS HAVE UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO THE SNB’S EXISTING FACILITIES
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The headline refers to a statement by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) issued in March 2023 amid the acute loss of confidence in Credit Suisse and the market stress that followed its sharp share-price decline and deposit outflows. In that context, the SNB and the Swiss financial regulator FINMA publicly affirmed that Credit Suisse met the capital and liquidity requirements for systemically important banks and that, if necessary, the central bank would provide it with liquidity. As part of this reassurance, officials emphasized that both major Swiss banks – Credit Suisse and UBS – had unrestricted access to the SNB’s existing liquidity facilities, such as its standing facilities and other collateralized funding tools, under the standard monetary policy and lender-of-last-resort framework. The reference to “unrestricted access” does not mean unconditional or unsecured lending but that both institutions, as eligible counterparties, could draw on the full range of SNB liquidity operations as long as they pledged sufficient eligible collateral and met the usual technical criteria. This access is central to the Swiss framework for financial stability: the SNB’s standing facilities and special liquidity programs are designed to provide banks with short-term Swiss franc liquidity to prevent or mitigate bank runs and payment disruptions. The statement therefore mattered for markets because it was intended to restore confidence in the resilience of the Swiss banking system, signal that the authorities were prepared to backstop systemically important institutions with central bank liquidity, and reduce the risk of contagion to the broader European and global financial system.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

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