Credit Suisse's Imminent Collapse Was 'An Open Secret'

3/30/2023 4:11:44 AM

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Inside Paradeplatz, a financial blog by Swiss journalist Lukas Hässig, is essential daily reading for Switzerland's close-knit financial community. Keystone / Walter Bieri

Lukas Hässig, the man behind the popular Swiss financial blog Inside Paradeplatz, has long been a thorn in the side of Credit Suisse and other Swiss banks. In an interview, he talks about the lawsuit Credit Suisse filed against him, freedom of expression and the Swiss media, and the collapse of Switzerland's second-biggest bank.

This content was published on March 30, 2023 March 30, 2023 minutes François Pilet, Gotham City*

Deutsch (de) lukas hässig: "die credit suisse hat sich selbst zerstört"
Italiano (it) "credit suisse si è autodistrutto"
Français (fr) lukas hässig: «credit suisse s'est autodétruit» (original)

In December 2022, Credit Suisse sued Inside Paradeplatz, demanding that 52 of its articles be taken down and CHF300,000 ($327,000) in damages from its publisher, journalist Lukas Hässig.

Since then, there has been a major twist in this David-versus-Goliath story: Goliath dramatically collapsed on March 19 and was taken over by its rival UBS. Who is to blame? Did the media help bring down Switzerland's second-biggest bank?

Gotham City: Three months ago, Credit Suisse sued external link you over 52 articles – all those on your site which mentioned its name. The bank also wanted 200 reader comments deleted and the removal of an interview external link with economics professor Hans Geiger. This kind of major legal offensive against a media organisation isn't very common in Switzerland. Why do you think Credit Suisse reacted like that?

Lukas Hässig: They said it was to protect their employees, but behind it was a desire to put a stop to my blog. I have my sources of information, and I hear things from readers too. By having a go at me, they were hoping to reduce those sources to silence.

G.C.: Credit Suisse didn't like the reader comments on the site. What were these comments about?

L.H.: Some labelled the bank a“Titanic”, which turned out to be quite right. Some described the top management as idiots, which of course wasn't a very nice thing to say.

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