Part sale is possible – The Federal Council wants to save the post Finance before the Postbank slides into crisis, should it be mortgage forgiven and part privatised can. The Federal Council based its decision on a new opinion – that of the Federal office of justice, disagrees. Jorgos Brouzos, Markus Häfliger10 Kommentare10Erklärt, such as the Federal Council wants to solve the problems of the Postbank: the President of the Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga on Friday, 5. June 2020, in Bern. Photo: Peter Klaunzer (Keystone)
The wailing was getting louder and louder. The profit for the Postfinance declined rapidly in recent years, at the same time a gap of 3 billion Swiss francs when the capital cushion is imminent. The post Finance boss days to Hansruedi Köng therefore called on the politicians to take Action. The Bank should be awarded soon, mortgages and loans – otherwise, it would be tight, and it would be difficult to Finance the Basic mission of the Post. The Federal Council is now open, how he wants to solve the problems of the Postbank, with a Revision of the postal law. The solution is not perfect, so Federal councillor Simonetta Sommaruga. But if nothing was done, not the basic pension through the Post office financially viable.
The template pushes to criticism. Against more freedom for the Postfinance and the cantonal banks brace themselves especially. “We are opposed to the lifting of the lending prohibition. We do not see that there is a market failure, this makes Intervention by a new state provider is necessary,” a spokesman of the Association of Swiss cantonal banks. “The market entry of the post office Finance can lead to a crowding-out effect, and primarily smaller banks in distress.” The cantonal banks dominate with a 40 per cent share of the market, then Raiffeisen follows. The co-operative Bank, however, want to refer later to the audit position.
the revenue of The post Finance have halved in the last five years. Net Interest income declined from about 1 billion Swiss francs to CHF 575 million. The competition works thanks to the lending business significantly more profitable. The interest margin at Postfinance is currently at 0.44 percent. When Hypospezialisten Raiffeisen is around 1 percent. At the Zürcher Kantonalbank, the income from the interest business alone amounts to 1.2 billion francs, which is around half of the total business income.
Up to 5 percent of the market reach
The entry of Postfinance in the Hypogeschäft should be done gradually. The Bank aims to achieve in the next ten years, a share of around 5 percent, i.e. about 50 billion Swiss francs. Thus, the income of the Bank should increase. But the question is, how strong. “It is expected that the Postfinance goes over the price in the saturated market. This triggers a negative dynamic, and brings corresponding risks”, says the spokesperson of the cantonal banks.
The Federal Council Swiss post Finance, however, a special hurdle: The credit policy should be climate-friendly. The Bank is about to Finance the renovation of properties. How many of such credits are to be awarded, is yet to be determined.
In the template, the Federal Council also proposes a partial privatization of Postfinance. According to Serge Gaillard, head of the Federal Finance administration, could make a model like the Swisscom sense: “49 per cent could be on the stock exchange to the public is sold.” As a result, the Bank would be able to obtain additional capital, and could be reduced the risk to the Federal government, should the Bank run into trouble. Should it not succeed to the post of Finance, to strengthen up for the partial privatisation of the capital cushion sufficient, and you should then get in trouble, would receive the Federal government Bank rescue loans, on life.
Keller-Sutter demanded amendment to the Constitution
Controversial is that the Federal Council continues with its post template on its own lawyers over. The Federal office of justice (FOJ) argued that the current wording of the Federal Constitution forbid the Postfinance’s entry into the mortgage market.
This criticism, Minister of justice, Karin Keller-Sutter wore on Wednesday in the Federal Council. In a confidential Report, they requested that, prior to the entry of the Post into the mortgage business, the Federal Constitution needed to be amended. So it would have been mandatory to a mandatory referendum.
But the entire Federal Council proposed to the objections in the Wind. Instead of the opinion of his own lawyers, he is based on the Lausanne law Professor Vincent Martenet. This was mandated by Ueli Maurer’s Department of Finance with the creation of a counter-opinion. And Martenet comes to an end with a lending by the post Finance is in conformity with the Constitution. Ironically admits Martenet in his opinion but that he speaks thus, not only the YEAR, but also of the majority opinion in the legal doctrine to resist. Peter Hettich, a Professor of law at the University of St. Gallen, criticized the Federal Council’s decision on Twitter, prompt, and spoke of a “ordered” report.
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