Swiss commission to tackle "too-big-to-fail" issue

* Experts to make proposals to fix "too-big-to-fail" issue

* High-ranking regulators, bankers on panel

ZURICH, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Swiss government has asked experts to come up with solutions that would prevent big banks and insurers from sinking the whole economy if they fail.

The commission of experts should consider solutions to the "too-big-to-fail" problem and present a report by autumn 2010, the Swiss Finance Ministry said in a statement.

While the commission's analysis would not be limited to banks' role, the issue was particularly clear with financial institutions, the ministry said.

Last year, the government bailout of Swiss bank giant UBS (UBSN.VX)(UBS.N) triggered discussions about how to limit the risks from large financial institutions for the Swiss economy.

UBS and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) still have combined liabilities of almost six times Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) of around 540 billion Swiss francs ($526.8 billion).

The head of the Swiss Federal Finance Administration, Peter Siegenthaler, would lead the panel, made up of high-ranking regulators, bankers and government officials as well as scientists.

The commission includes Swiss National Bank board member and vice-chairman designate Thomas Jordan, the head of bank watchdog FINMA, Patrick Raaflaub, as well as Credit Suisse vice-chairman Urs Rohner and UBS' chief operating officer, Ulrich Koerner.

Top executives from drug firm Novartis (NOVN.VX) and cement company Holcim (HOLN.VX) are also on the panel.

A number of countries are mulling ways to limit the risks from large financial institutions to the broader economy as a consequence of the financial crisis.

Two key U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday endorsed the idea of the government restricting not just the risks taken by big financial firms, but also their sheer size, echoing European proposals.[ID:nN03504346]

(Reporting by Sven Egenter; editing by Stephen Nisbet)