Unexceptional Swiss

A country that embraces banking secrecy and military neutrality is under the spotlight [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( The market turmoil has faded after the run of banking woes in the US and in Europe. Even Swiss stocks have bounced back from the lows hit after the rescue of financial giant Credit Suisse. But as the squall retreats for now, it leaves in its path a series of difficult questions for governments. None more so than the Swiss. Key reading: - [Swiss Look On in Dismay as Once-Mighty Credit Suisse Implodes]( - [How Scandal and Mistrust Ended Credit Suisse’s 166-Year Run]( - [Swiss Are On the Hook for $13,500 Each on Credit Suisse Bailout]( - [European Stocks Gain as Investor Worries of Bank Turmoil Subside]( - [Credit Suisse Collapse Reveals Ugly Truths for Investors]( Most poignantly, the whole unravelling of one of Switzerland’s most vaunted financial institutions runs counter to the country’s image for probity and stability, a fundamental of its banking sector. In truth, it’s been challenged on banking secrecy for years, most notably after the Lehman crisis of 2008 and during the Barack Obama administration’s confrontation with the authorities in Bern over the country’s status as a tax haven. The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, another Swiss banking behemoth, shines an even more uncomfortable light on its financial affairs, not least since the new entity will be several times the size of the national economy. The unwanted attention comes as Switzerland’s neutrality is being questioned. The Swiss make ammunition, and the government is so far resisting pressure from Germany among others to allow shells to be re-exported to Ukraine to defend against Russia. Thus, two pillars of Swiss identity are under attack. Switzerland isn’t alone in facing awkward questions. Those in the UK’s Conservative Party who long for a light-touch regulatory system to bolster the country outside the European Union have surely been put back in their box. But for Bern, the very qualities that once underpinned Swiss exceptionalism are evaporating. That risks leaving little but a haven for the rich — and a desirable passport that makes it easy to leave. — [Alan Crawford]( and [Craig Stirling]( A safety cone outside a Credit Suisse Group branch and office in Bern on March 16. Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg [Click here]( to listen to our Twitter Space conversation about the recent banking collapses, the legacy of the financial crisis of 15 years ago and the role of government in regulation. And if you are enjoying this newsletter, sign up [here](. Global Headlines Creating boundaries | While Chinese President Xi Jinping firmly aligned with Russia and pushed back against the US during his trip to Moscow, he held back from offering Vladimir Putin a commitment to buy a lot more gas. The absence of a major energy deal and lack of specifics on other areas of economic cooperation showed [hesitation]( on getting too close to Russia. - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered strong support to Ukraine in his first visit to Kyiv and [invited]( President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to participate in the Group of Seven summit in May. - Ukraine clinched staff-level [backing]( for a $15.6 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, the first to a nation at war in the IMF’s 77-year history. Fighting back | Florida Governor Ron DeSantis [struck back]( at Donald Trump, changing tack after largely ignoring his intensifying attacks as they vie to be the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate. With polls showing the former president moving ahead of DeSantis, the latter criticized the Trump administration’s handling of Covid-19, his chaotic governing style and his leadership just as Trump is expected to be indicted in New York. - Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is poised to file criminal charges against Trump, which will turn him into political [lightning rod]( as the first prosecutor to indict a former president. [Greg Farrell]( and [Laura Nahmias]( outline how Bragg has prepared the case. - Coming Soon: Understand power in Washington through the lens of business, government and the economy. [Sign up now for the new Bloomberg Washington Edition newsletter](. French champagne exports to Gulf countries jumped in 2022 as Russians flocked to the region after the war in Ukraine curbed their access to Western nations. [Shipments]( to the United Arab Emirates jumped 75%, while exports to Turkey surged 120%, according to the Comite Champagne. Russia was the 13th-biggest export market in 2021, but fell to 38th last year after shipments declined by more than four-fifths. Crunch day | UK lawmakers will [vote]( today on a key feature of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new post-Brexit deal with the EU over trade with Northern Ireland. At the same time, Boris Johnson, who became premier thanks to Brexit, will seek to save his reputation by giving evidence to a committee investigating whether he deliberately lied to Parliament over lockdown-busting “Partygate” gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic. Best of Bloomberg Opinion - [Bank Chaos Opens Capitalism]([’]([s New Era: Micklethwait & Wooldridge]( - [Warrant on Putin Gives Russia an Escape Hatch: Leonid Bershidsky]( - [Another Diplomatic Gambit May Blow Up in Xi’s Face: Hal Brands]( Tough times | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s failure to convince former economy czar Mehmet Simsek to rejoin his administration is [a fresh setback]( as he seeks support ahead of what could be a tight election against a united opposition candidate in May. Simsek’s decision came hours after an emerging Islamist party leader opted not to join the president’s alliance and to run against him instead. - The biggest non-aligned political party said it won’t field its own candidate in the presidential elections, in a [boost]( to the main opposition coalition’s chances of unseating Erdogan. Explainers You Can Use - [Fox News Hosts’ Emails Shown to Judge in Dominion Suit]( - [Why Strike-Averse Britain Is Gripped by Labor Unrest]( - [India to Go Green to Heat Its Soldiers Along Himalayan Border]( Tightening net | Venezuelan authorities have stepped up arrests and stripped the immunity of a ruling party lawmaker yesterday as a [widening corruption probe]( shakes the top ranks of the governing socialist party. So far 19 people have been detained, with Jorge Rodriguez, head of the government-controlled National Assembly, saying “this investigation is just beginning.” Watch Bloomberg TV’s Balance of Power at 5pm to 6pm ET weekdays with Washington correspondents [Annmarie Hordern]( and [Joe Mathieu](. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online [here.]( News to Note - The US condemned an Israeli parliament vote [repealing]( a 2005 law that barred settlers from parts of the West Bank, calling the move “provocative and counterproductive.” - The Biden administration unveiled tight [restrictions]( on new operations in China by chipmakers that get federal funds to build in the US, potentially hampering efforts to expand in the world’s largest semiconductor arena. - South Korea plans to hold its “largest-ever” [live-fire]( drills with the US in a move certain to anger North Korea, which has ramped up its provocations to new levels in response to recent military exercises. - Black people are nearly six times more likely to be [murdered]( in London than White people, according to a new report that found evidence of institutional racism in the UK capital’s police force. - TikTok CEO Shou Chew plans to tell a US congressional committee hearing tomorrow his app does more to protect young users than rival social media and that Beijing has no [authority]( over its data. And finally ... Beijing’s Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center set its [highest pollution level]( and warned vulnerable residents to stay indoors today, as a sandstorm — the third this month — combined with regular industrial contamination to create a thick, unbreathable haze over the Chinese capital, the worst in two years. After a few months of post-Covid 19 bustle, sidewalks emptied again; almost everyone walking outside wore a mask and sometimes goggles. People walk across a pedestrian bridge in the central business district. Photographer: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Politics newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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