Credit Suisse’s Fate Rests in the Hands of These Power Players

A politician, an economist, and a mathematician are among the select group of power players who will determine the future of what was once Switzerland’s pre-eminent financial institution.

After a crisis of investor confidence, Credit Suisse Group AG is locked in emergency talks this weekend that are likely to end in the breakup of the 166-year-old bank. Longtime rival UBS Group AG is in negotiations with regulators about which parts of the firm it may acquire.

It’s a dramatic fall from grace for a titan of Switzerland’s all-powerful banking industry. The people at the epicenter are a small band of ...