Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said in an interview published Saturday that the Swiss economy would likely have collapsed had Credit Suisse declared bankruptcy.

Keller-Sutter told Le Tan newspaper that the government acted in the best interests of the country by quickly arranging the takeover of Swiss bank UBS by its rival, the second largest bank in Switzerland .

Amid fears of a global banking crisis last month, investor confidence in Credit Suisse collapsed on March 15, and the government then orchestrated a takeover before the markets reopened on March 20.

About 109 billion Swiss francs ($120 billion) were allocated to the bank between government guarantees and liquidity provided by the Swiss Central Bank.

"Given the circumstances, we've done everything we can to reduce the burden on the state and taxpayers," Keller-Sutter said.

"Without the firm intervention of the authorities, Credit Suisse would have declared bankruptcy, which would have probably led to the collapse of the Swiss economy," she added.

Credit Suisse, like UBS, was among the 30 banks in the world rated important to the international banking system.

But the bank has suffered in recent years a series of scandals, and after the collapse of three US regional banks in March, it seemed like the weakest link in the chain.

Talks to take over the bank were hastily held at the Finance Ministry in Bern, and the $3.25 billion deal was announced on March 19 evening. "The bank was going to declare bankruptcy on Monday, March 20, and why? Because of a culture that apparently created false incentives over the years, because of the many scandals," the finance minister said.

In response to a question about whether any of the executives will be brought to justice, she said, "It is difficult and complicated."

She added that the government's priority is to complete the acquisition. UBS said Wednesday that it should complete the process in the coming months.

The Minister of Finance considered that it is too early to talk about the future structure of UBS, which will become a huge bank.

Keller-Sutter argued that the government should analyze what happened, and then amend the system around banks deemed too big to fail. "But there are limits. We must not forget that ... trust cannot be regulated," she added.