Credit Suisse's Chairman Apologizes Amid Bank Run Fears and Ethics Check in Finance World

Swiss regulator FINMA has argued that allowing the bankruptcy of Credit Suisse would have resulted in deposit runs at other banks and crippled Switzerland's economy and financial center. As part of the transaction, the regulator instructed Credit Suisse to write down 16 billion Swiss francs worth of AT1 bonds to zero, while entitling equity shareholders to payouts at the stock's takeover value. The merger plan was ultimately preferred both to stabilize Credit Suisse and to prevent an overspill of the crisis into the international banking sector, FINMA argues.