Keystone
The new UBS does not represent the only problem for Switzerland regarding the concentration of risks in the financial sector: it now emerges that all the main large banks now rely on a single auditor, namely EY.
Today, a contribution published on Weltwoche by points the finger at the situation Rico Kutscheroperator of the financial information portal Muula.ch.
More and more people – argues the expert – are slowly but surely realizing that the merger between Credit Suisse (CS) and UBS hides numerous new threats: not only has competition disappeared in many sectors, but also the risks for the country have becoming much higher with an even bigger big bank.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers is no longer in the running
In his opinion, however, a new risk is emerging that has not yet been adequately perceived, that of the auditing firms that control the balance sheet and accounts.
UBS will rely on EY (formerly Ernst & Young) in the future, it emerged at the general meeting. Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), which previously managed Credit Suisse, is therefore no longer in the running.
Everyone trusts EY, not just the banks
According to Kutscher, this is a striking fact, because with the passage of the CS activities under the control of EY, all the main Swiss financial institutions are now subject to the same auditor, without exceptions: this is the case for example of the Zurich Cantonal Bank, which it is also considered systemic, but also of Postfinance.
And EY also scours the accounts of insurers such as Zurich or Baloise, as well as SIX, the operator of the Zurich stock exchange. If we then leave the finance sector, we discover that EY also audits other giants such as Nestlé, Migros, Holcim and Kühne + Nagel.
In short, if EY were to come under pressure, the annual budgets of several leading Swiss companies would be affected.
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