Zurich Cantonal Bank branded too big to fail

by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch  November 11, 2013 – 12:12 Switzerland’s largest cantonal bank will now face the stiffest regulatory scrutiny after being officially named alongside UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) and Credit Suisse AG (NYSE:CS) as a “too big to fail” financial institution by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) on Monday. As a consequence, Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) may have to shed risk or boost its capital buffer further to shield both itself and Switzerland’s economy from potential failure. By the end of 2018, ZKB will now need to cover up to 19% of its risky trades with capital, up from the maximum of 14.4%…