SRG: Loan of 250 million taken out

In view of steadily rising fee income, the SRG's financial situation looks bleak, according to the Sonntagszeitung. In 2012, the company received 1.2 billion francs from the Billag pot - resulting in a loss of 117.4 million francs. No exception: since 1998, SRG has only been in the black in three years - namely 2000, 2003 and 2011. In total, the deficit in this period amounts to 275 million francs.

According to the article, this is evidence of "adventurous financial management" and "a violation of the Federal Council's mandate. The government demands that the SRG operate with the available funds. The reality is different: The company has had to upgrade its own real estate, sell properties and take out loans to ensure liquidity. When SRG set up its own pension fund in 2003, it took out a loan of 200 million francs from the Zürcher Kantonalbank to ensure that the capital was covered.

Despite the debt, the range of services and staff were permanently expanded in the following years. Suffering from the interest burden, the company switched from ZKB to Postfinance in 2008, which increased the loan to 270 million. While the borrowings are said to have been increased to 450 million Swiss francs by 2011, the equity decreased annually. In 2012, SRG, under the leadership of Roger de Weck, sold the Bern headquarters to Mobiliar Insurance - the proceeds are said to have amounted to over 100 million francs. The distress sale could not prevent SRG from having to take out a promissory note loan of 250 million francs from Postfinance in 2013 - shortly after repaying the old loan. For the Sonntagszeitung, the question arises whether the many loss-making accounts are calculated to secure financing in Bern. The de facto state guarantee that politics grants SRG creates an incentive for SRG's financial behavior. (SoZ/hae)