|| This seminar is open ONLY to EUI members ||

Join us for the next event of the 'Finance in the Tuscan Hills' seminar series, where we host Seraina Grünewald, Professor of International Economic Law and Finance Law at the University of St. Gallen and a Part-time Professor at the European University Institute.

On 19 March 2023, the Swiss authorities announced that UBS would acquire its failing competitor Credit Suisse in a state-facilitated merger to avoid its resolution. What is seen by some observers as a blunt violation of international standards warrants an objective and balanced assessment. In her paper, Prof. Grünewald provides such an assessment, contrasting the measures taken on 19 March 2023 with alternative courses of action contemplated by the Swiss authorities and evaluating their outcome in light of the international framework devised for resolving global systemically important banks—the Key Attributes of the Financial Stability Board. The assessment shows that the handling of Credit Suisse’s failure was far from a bailout like those seen during the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. While the Swiss authorities chose not to apply their legal powers to put Credit Suisse into resolution, many aspects of the resolution framework fulfilled their intended purpose. Nevertheless, her article points to three key lessons for the further development of global resolution frameworks: (1) avoiding the risks associated with creating yet bigger banks should become an explicit objective of resolution planning; (2) preserving strategic optionality in resolution planning will significantly enhance the chances of successfully deploying resolution actions; and (3) resolution planning as well as a credible public sector backstop must cater for the ample funding needs during and after the resolution of global systemically important banks.

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Seraina Grünewald is a Professor of International Economic Law and Finance Law at the University of St. Gallen and a Part-time Professor at the European University Institute. Before joining the University of St. Gallen in 2024, she held the chair for European and Comparative Financial Law at Radboud University Nijmegen. She is also a member of the Academic Board of the European Banking Institute (EBI), an academic fellow with the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at the University of Genoa (EUSFiL) and a member of the Committee on International Monetary Law of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA).

Seraina Grünewald teaches and conducts research in the fields of sustainable finance, central banking, the digitalization of money, Banking Union, and bank resolution as well as constitutional and institutional aspects of economic and monetary governance in the EU. She is frequently invited to present at international and European authorities, including the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism, and the Single Resolution Board.

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The FBF seminar series ‘Finance in the Tuscan Hills’ focuses on financial sector issues and aims to bring together researchers from across the EUI community, who share an interest in these subjects.