Musique Suisse instead of Credit Suisse

Brummbär loves music. Its reputation was so strong that he even made this broad field his profession. From time to time, Brummbär also writes about Music - and now for the first time in the name of music. In view of the dramatic topicality and turbulent circumstances of the state bank rescue, such an appeal is simply a matter of urgency.

Music is systemically relevant and much-too-big-to-fail. In order to prevent "risk materialization" (original quote from Credit Suisse Chairman of the Board of Directors Axel Lehmann, who never used the honest word "loss") and lasting shocks to the global music market, Brummbär is demanding the generous sum of CHF 209 billion from the Federal Council within a reasonable period of time (i.e. within 3 days). The shareholder base of us musicians is broadly diversified and thus democratically legitimized, from municipal symphony orchestras and jazz big bands to regional church choirs, yodelling clubs and brass bands to the dimly lit agglo disco.

As music managers, we are innovative, multi-talented and cultivate visionary projects without losing our grip on the ground. We don't put responsibility on the back burner - we are directly liable with our good reputation for the quality of our harmonies, choruses and verses. We leave the KATA-STROPHES to the self-proclaimed Masters of the Universe. According to their self-declaration, they consider themselves to be the best - and that has its price.

Whenever the clammy CEOs of the pecuniary carpets cause a minor or major mess, they do so with a full spin program. Regrettably, as collateral damage, they (and we) occasionally end up with an entire bank, complete with 167 years of tradition and 10,000 jobs. The future of the Swiss financial center? Global, cannibal, tribal, legal, semi-legal, illegal - it doesn't matter.

MUSIQUE SUISSE's bonuses, on the other hand, are also made up of banknotes, but not from the National Bank. We are more interested in training courses than share prices. Our learning curves are so steep that we need extendable scales to climb all the way up. But even at dizzying heights, we don't get dizzy. We are deeply anchored. A solid base forms the GROUND for us in two senses: as a foundation and as a raison d'être.

This fundamental basic tone grounds us casually but reliably, even in archaic nature jüzli, exotic folk songs, wild hip-hop raps, right through to the most complex harmonies and trickiest rhythms. We are always in tune with the times, tactful, dynamic, disciplined, agogic, pedagogical, goal-oriented. With Timing for us does not mean the buying and selling flows in microseconds on the stock exchange, but the precise setting, breathing and phrasing of a single note. Our Wall Street is the exhilarating experience of a shared Grooves.

We make a melody resonate, caress it, pluck it, blow it, dance it, yodel it, hop with it over hill and dale, over riffs and ostinati, keep it alive with a keen ear, tickle it at the right fermatas, let it rip and chill out in the breaks. We build bold arcs, head for well-directed dramaturgical climaxes, approach the core of the melody concentrically in elegant hermeneutic circles and then let the sounds fade away in a timely manner, separated by type, completely without legacy and toxic legacies.

Our parade ground is in front of the village school or in the pavilion by the lake, where the youth orchestra competes with the young rock band and the Schwyzerörgeli duo. Our transfer payments do not flow into "variable incentive payments", "deferred cash bonuses" or "public liquidity backstops" and certainly not into even more obscene "transformation bonuses", but simply benefit the general public: everyone listens to them, many play them.

We are creating the present. That should be worth the equivalent of 209,000 million francs.

Or did Brummbär misunderstand something at the memorable Federal Council press conference on March 19, 2023? Profits for all, losses (pardon: "materialized risks") private?

Grumpy bear

Under the alias of "Brummbär", the Irish-Swiss composer and musician John Wolf Brennan writes commentaries and columns that are published in various media. www.brennan.ch