Sergio Ermotti Sees Great Potential

Sergio Ermotti waved away the question whether he didn't fancy going into politics, adding that he was almost 60 years of age. This did not mean that he had no wishlist for the government in Bern, he told Switzerland's «Handelszeitung»: «The commitment of successful and reliable businessmen would be extremely important.»

Switzerland is becoming steadily less competitive compared with other economies. The country has dropped behind countries such Georgia, Macedonia and Malaysia in the Ease of Doing Business Indexpublished by the World Bank. And last but not least, the number of companies relocating to the country has almost halved since 2008, Ermotti added. Worrying trends that should alert politicians, according to the banker.

Harmful Initiatives

Current politics aside, Ermotti also expressed his concerns about the future. Swiss voters time and again were called upon to decide about initiatives that had the potential to harm the country's economy. One such attempt had been launched by the populist right which aimed to cancel the deal with the European Union which allowed Swiss companies look for new employees in the EU – the so-called free movement of people.