Violation of the principle of proper business conduct through the sale of participations

Facts

Credit Suisse Group and Credit Suisse First Boston filed an administrative appeal with the Federal Banking Commission against a ruling that qualified the sale of 540,000 shares of Biber Holding AG by the former Swiss Credit Institution (SKA) as a violation of the principle of proper business conduct.

The SKA had taken over shares as part of a restructuring of Biber Holding AG and later sold them after gaining knowledge of the company's poor financial situation.

The Banking Commission saw this as a breach of the principle of proper business conduct and required Credit Suisse Group to issue a regulation on a disposal ban for participations it had acquired as part of a restructuring.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined the administrative appeal and came to the conclusion that the Banking Commission had not exceeded its powers by issuing the ruling.

The court found that the SKA had exploited its knowledge of Biber Holding AG's poor financial situation to enrich itself by selling the shares, and that this was a breach of the principle of proper business conduct.

The court also pointed out that the Banking Commission had a certain degree of discretion when assessing the SKA's behavior and that the measures taken…