Tears in Zurich

The financial crisis is enough to make grown men and women cry, particularly if they are bankers. The state is (partly) taking over banks. There are calls for bankers’ salaries to be capped. And bonuses are now taboo.

Last weekend in Zurich — the epitome of European banking — I witnessed the sight of a grown man crying in public. It was a moving moment, and I felt sorry for him. But by showing his feelings, the man gained enormous sympathy, particularly from the women in the audience.

But first, let me report some positive financial news from Zurich: the Swiss banking system is still functioning. On Sunday afternoon at 16.20, I successfully withdrew SFr 100 from an ATM at a branch of Credit Suisse. The money was paid out instantly and, according to the receipt, €66.94 was debited from my bank account in Germany.

Is this really news, that the Swiss banking system is functioning well? Not normally, of course. But after reading last week’s stories of the Swiss government’s bailout of its banking system, I started to worry. If Switzerland is affected, things must be bad.

In fact, the country’s national banking champion, UBS, has been in trouble since the end of 2007, and it became the first bank to accept government support under the bailout. Credit Suisse, on the other hand, said it was able to raise new capital from private investors, including the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

And the man who was crying in public? He was a qualified banker by the name of Beat Ritschard, director of the Zurich Open tennis tournament since 1993 and someone who has been involved with the tournament since it began in 1984.

The reason for Ritschard’s tears was that this year’s tournament was the last — at least for the moment. Lack of sponsor and audience interest in recent years has led to the tournament being cut from the women’s tennis calendar next year.

The 2008 tournament was won in great style by Venus Williams against Italian Flavia Pennetta. But during the winner’s ceremony, Ritschard was so overcome by emotion that he couldn’t finish his announcement. The crowd applauded him and, for a moment, Zurich showed a softer, non-financial face.