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What happened to Credit Suisse and what could the fallout be? : The Indicator from Planet Money Credit Suisse was a 167-year-old financial giant. A favored place for the world's super-rich to stash their cash. So why did it collapse?

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The Indicator from Planet Money

The demise of Credit Suisse

The demise of Credit Suisse

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Photo taken on December 6, 2008 shows the logo of Credit Suisse at one of the Swiss bank branches in Zurich. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Photo taken on December 6, 2008 shows the logo of Credit Suisse at one of the Swiss bank branches in Zurich. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Switzerland has long been a preferred place for the world's wealthy to stash their cash. But, one of the country's biggest and oldest banks, Credit Suisse, collapsed over the weekend, forcing the Swiss government to broker a deal that saw rival UBS buy the bank for $3.2 billion.

Today on the show: we chat with Alice Fulwood, Wall Street correspondent for The Economist, about how this global financial giant grew, survived scandals and bad bets, and why it finally fell. Also: why Credit Suisse had an emergency plan—but didn't use it.

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For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.