By John Revill
ZURICH (Reuters) -A parliamentary investigation into the collapse of Credit score Suisse will preserve its recordsdata closed for 50 years, in accordance with a parliamentary committee doc, a degree of secrecy that has triggered concern amongst Swiss historians.
The doc means the investigating fee would hand over its recordsdata to the Swiss Federal Archives after an extended hole than the same old 30 years to make sure excessive ranges of confidentiality apply to the investigation, which has generated enormous public curiosity.
The investigation will deal with the actions of the Swiss authorities, monetary regulator and central financial institution within the run as much as the emergency takeover of Credit score Suisse by UBS in March.
The investigation is barely the fifth of its type within the nation’s fashionable historical past and the committee of lawmakers conducting it has sweeping powers to name on the Swiss cupboard, finance ministry and different state our bodies.
“After the completion of the investigation, the recordsdata shall be handed over to the Federal Archives and shall be topic to an prolonged safety interval of fifty years,” the committee mentioned in a method paper outlining its communication coverage.
The Swiss parliament declined to touch upon Saturday after the 50-year requirement was first reported by newspaper Aargauer Zeitung.
The Swiss Society for Historical past raised considerations in regards to the size of time, with its president Sacha Zala writing to fee head, Isabelle Chassot, a law-maker from the Swiss higher home of parliament.
“Ought to researchers need to scientifically examine the 2023 banking disaster, entry to the CS recordsdata can be invaluable,” Zala wrote, in accordance with the newspaper.
“Ideally, it must be doable to safe and make accessible the archive after an applicable safety interval has expired and, if crucial, topic to historic analysis circumstances,” he added.
The committee held its first common assembly in Bern on Thursday, the place it confused the confidentiality of its proceedings, which may embody interviews with bankers.
“All individuals taking part within the conferences and the questioning are topic to the responsibility of secrecy, not solely the members of the fee, but additionally the interviewees themselves,” it mentioned.
“Indiscretions complicate the work or injury the credibility of the fee and may have adverse penalties for the Swiss monetary centre,” the committee added.
(Reporting by John Revill; enhancing by David Evans and Christina Fincher)
