Switzerland's banking sector, once synonymous with stability and secrecy, is now under intense scrutiny and undergoing serious soul-searching after its two biggest banks got caught in the subprime crisis.
Industry leaders and the authorities, who until recently had stressed that the situation was under control, appear to have changed their tune as the country's biggest bank UBS AG (UBS) has taken write-downs of more than $37 billion, earning the dubious distinction of being the world's worst-hit group.