Starting out in Politics
Karin Keller-Sutter began her political career in 1992 when she was elected to the Wil city council. She was elected to the St. Gallen Cantonal Council in 1996, and she commanded the Justice and Security Department in the St. Gallen Cantonal Administration beginning in 2000. In 2011, Karin Keller-Sutter was elected as a representative of the Canton of St. Gallen to the Council of States, where she eventually served as president in 2017–18. Karin Keller-Sutter is also active in numerous committees and assistance organisations. Keller has been the director of the Swiss Federal Department of Finance (FDF) since the beginning of 2023.
A month after joining the Swiss Ministry of Finance, Karin Keller-Sutter found herself in the throes of Switzerland’s worst financial crisis in over a decade.
She swiftly drew the ire of a portion of the stunned Swiss populace. Credit Suisse was to be acquired by its competitor UBS with the assistance of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds and the National Bank. But how did this come about?
The deterioration of Credit Suisse
Since its founding in 1856, Credit Suisse has been an integral element of the prosperous Swiss economy. It helped finance the construction of the nation’s railways as well as corporations that have since become economic powerhouses. The second-largest financial institution in Switzerland, after UBS, has been plagued by scandals for several years. Along with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas, and Deutsche Bank, it is included on the International Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) list of the 30 most systemically significant banks in the globe. However, Credit Suisse has experienced a string of errors and scandals. Prior to filing for bankruptcy, the bank had extended a loan to a prominent hedge fund. It was accused by the Swiss financial regulator of ineffective risk management in relation to the bankrupt Greensill Group.
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Client assets totaling 120 billion Swiss francs were withdrawn as a result last year. Not only because of this did the situation arise.
It is speculated that Keller-Sutter’s upbringing in a family-run restaurant helped instill in her an appreciation for hard work and discipline. She combines financial knowledge with an understanding of the difficulties businesses face, said Etienne Jornod, head of the NZZ media company. That’s why she was able to save Credit Suisse from its financial crisis and solidify this banking case.
