Did Maurer hide something? The downfall of CS is now being made into a film

The “SonntagsZeitung” and Contrast Film present the spectacular downfall of Credit Suisse in film form. The story, which began in 1856 with the founding of the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt (SKA) by Alfred Escher, is told with all its dramatic twists and turns, as the “SonntagsZeitung” reports.

From the Chiasso affair in 1977 to the collapse and the quick, free takeover by UBS in 2023. The film focuses on power, greed and the people behind the financial scandals. Director Simon Helbling and co-initiator Stefan Halter are planning a true crime documentary with “SonntagsZeitung” editor-in-chief Arthur Rutishauser that will give former CEOs and managers as well as prosecutors and disappointed employees a chance to speak. The premiere is planned for spring 2025.

Director Helbling says of the project, which has been filming at international locations for weeks: “The question 'How could this happen?' is not just about the self-image of this bank, the financial centre or the authorities, but about the self-image of Switzerland. But above all I am interested in the people behind the numbers. Because even if it is about insane amounts of money that are won and lost, this is a story about people and fates.”

The parliamentary investigation committee (PUK) has found that Finance Minister Ueli Maurer played a more active role in the collapse of Credit Suisse than previously assumed. According to the “SonntagsZeitung”, the report shows that Maurer held annual secret meetings with National Bank President Thomas Jordan and CS President Axel Lehmann between October 2022 and December 2020.

These meetings were neither recorded nor were their contents passed on to the Federal Council or the relevant committees, as is actually required. These committees were created in the wake of the chaotic rescue of UBS in 2008. New information also shows that CS had serious problems as early as spring 2022, but Maurer kept this secret from the Federal Council.

Although Maurer assured his colleagues that everything was fine, he was apparently worried about the CS situation. At a public event hosted by the news portal “Inside Paradeplatz” he said that “at that point he no longer believed that the CS could have been saved.” If all of this is true, he lied to his colleagues. The full PUK report with further details is expected to be published in November.

It remains to be seen whether the results will one day become part of the documentation.