Mergers are not the best way to help Europe’s banks deal with negative interest rates, Credit Suisse Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam said in an interview published on Sunday, June 2.
“That is not the solution,” Thiam told Swiss newspaper Blick am Sonntag. “Negative interest rates have created an extremely difficult environment, where many banks have come under long-term pressure. A merger here would fix nothing.”
UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti said last month after Germany’s Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank called off merger talks, that consolidation in the European banking industry remains inevitable.
Thiam said in the interview he was not criticizing the policies of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), which has used negative rate to weaken the Swiss franc. “I am only saying that negative rates have a negative effect on the economy,” he said.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
