ZURICH, May 27 (Reuters) – Switzerland is drawing up plans for emergency measures including capital controls in case the euro collapses although it does not expect to need them and will continue to defend a cap on the franc in the meantime, the head of the central bank said.

“We must be prepared just in case the currency union collapses, although I don’t expect that,” Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan, who predicted the euro zone crisis in his 1994 doctoral thesis, told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper.

Jordan said a group set up by the Swiss government to consider possible scenarios in the case of a euro break-up was focusing on instruments to fight the strength of the safe haven franc which has soared during the euro zone crisis.

“One measure would be capital controls, in other words measures which directly influence the flow of capital into Switzerland,” he said, but declined to give further details.

Jordan last month dismissed negative rates on foreign deposits as a tool for curbing safe haven flows. The Swiss imposed such deposit taxes as they battled a red-hot currency in the 1970s, but they did little to weaken the franc.

In an attempt to prevent a recession and deflation from the soaring currency, the SNB set a cap of 1.20 per euro on Sept. 6 but the franc is still 30 percent stronger than before the financial crisis, hurting exporters and the tourism industry.

“Even under the most difficult conditions we will also in future enforce the minimum rate with all determination and align our monetary policy with maintaining this minimum rate. I stress, even under very adverse conditions,” Jordan said.

GENEVA (Reuters) – There will be no mass exodus of clients from Switzerland’s banks due to deals with several European countries over untaxed assets stashed in secret accounts and a pledge to turn away tax evaders in future, the industry association’s head told Reuters.

“The chances are much of that money will stay one way or another to be managed professionally in Switzerland,” Patrick Odier, chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association and managing partner of private bank Lombard Odier, said in an interview.

In the wake of the financial crisis, Switzerland has come under heavy global pressure to weaken its tradition of strict bank secrecy to help cash-strapped governments hunt tax dodgers who have hidden their assets in vaults in Zurich and Geneva.

“Regrettably, you always find someone who doesn’t want to pay his taxes who will go to an island or I don’t know where … but the number of alternatives has been considerably reduced by the financial difficulties of many countries since the crisis,” Odier said.

“Secondly, the regulation internationally has developed so that what we’re living through today in Switzerland is hopefully going to be the international standard. So, no, we don’t see flows of money going out,” he added.

In deals struck this year with Germany, Britain and Austria – and under negotiation with Italy – Switzerland has managed to defend client privacy in return for levying punitive back taxes and on those accounts and a withholding tax on future earnings.

Some bankers say the agreements and a promise to only manage taxed assets in future could lead to big client withdrawals and job losses for the $2 trillion Swiss offshore wealth management industry as the country loses its competitive tax advantage.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest biotech company Actelion said it would only return to earnings growth in 2014, later than analysts expect, as new medicines and cost cuts would take time to offset falling sales of a key heart and lung drug.

The Swiss group, which received a boost last week from positive trial results of a new generation heart and lung disease treatment, said on Tuesday it expected stable core earnings in 2013 in local currencies, followed by a return to growth in 2014 and double digit percentage growth in 2015.

Actelion has already forecast flat core earnings in 2012 as it braces for a decline in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Tracleer, which accounts for around 90 percent of group sales, but which goes off patent in 2015 and faces growing competition from Gilead’s rival treatment Letairis.

“Current consensus and we also were expecting growth as soon as 2013 and beyond of about 10-12 percent. Hence we expect expectations to be cut but by about 10 percent following today’s announcement,” said Vontobel analyst Andrew Weiss.

Shares in Actelion, which jumped 18 percent after the data on new PAH drug macitentan were released last week, were down 4.1 percent at 38.35 Swiss francs by 0745 GMT. [ID:nL5E8FU0GW]

The decline was exacerbated by the stock going ex-dividend, meaning buyers will now not qualify for a 0.8 franc payout.

Actelion said its priority was to expand its leadership in the market for treating PAH, with its pipeline in immunomodulation and antibiotics a second focus.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss food group Nestle is to buy drugmaker Pfizer’s baby food business for $11.85 billion, beating out French rival Danone in the battle for dominance of fast-growing emerging markets.

The world’s biggest food company had to dig deeper than expected into its ample pockets to win the high-stakes fight for Pfizer Nutrition, which makes 85 percent of its sales in emerging markets and is Nestle’s biggest deal to date.

“The price tag is high, however Nestle is securing a high growth/margin business with high exposure in the emerging markets. China will become the number 3 market for Nestle overall,” said Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy.

Nestle said the deal would add to earnings per share from the first year, and would allow cost synergies of $160 million. Bertschy expects it to add about 0.5 percent to earnings per share in the first year and 1.5 percent in the following years.

Nestle shares, which hit an all-time high of 57.50 francs ahead of solid first-quarter results last week, fell 2.5 percent to 55.70 francs at 8:23 a.m. EDT (1223 GMT), compared with a 1.4 percent weaker European food and beverage index. The shares were trading ex-dividend, but were down less than the 1.95 francs payout.

“Although the growth profile, attractive margins and emerging market exposure makes this a compelling asset, we believe that the multiples being some way ahead of market expectations may dampen near term enthusiasm for the deal,” said Citi analyst Robert Dickinson.

The deal price was well above the $10 billion which had been expected. Nestle said it was paying 19.8 times expected 2012 core earnings, above previous Nestle deals in the sector when it paid 15.7 times for Gerber and 17.6 times for Novartis Nutrition, according to Citi.

ZURICH, April 22 (Reuters) – Attacks on Switzerland as a tax haven constitute an “economic war” by rivals who want to hurt the country’s big banks and its strength as a financial centre, UBS Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti was quoted as saying on Sunday.

“Switzerland has been attacked since 2008. We are in the middle of an economic war,” Ermotti told the SonntagsZeitung in an interview. “The goal is to weaken the financial centre of Switzerland.”

“It’s about weakening the two big Swiss banks which are internationally successful… Not only foreign politicians but also our competitors around the world have an interest in the attacks on Switzerland.”

Ermotti, a Swiss citizen who took over as CEO at UBS last year, said attacks on Swiss bank secrecy – which has helped the country build up a $2 trillion offshore financial sector – had political as well as economic motives.

This is the first time a top Swiss bank executive has made such outspoken remarks against the tax claims on Swiss banks. In the past, Swiss bank bosses have kept their heads down.

He said that an investigation launched recently in France into allegations that the bank helped French clients dodge taxes was being misused in the presidential election campaign.

“Politicians want to cash in the taxes. But it’s about more than that: Switzerland is a very successful island internationally with low interest rates, low taxes and attractive banks. Many people abroad don’t like that,” he said.