GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss government Wednesday announced measures to strengthen its “too big to fail” rules aimed at preventing potentially disastrous consequences from banking sector turmoil following last year’s troubles at Credit Suisse before its takeover by rival UBS. Karin Keller-Sutter explained to reporters that the measures will strive to safeguard taxpayers — who faced potential liability to prevent a major banking sector collapse — and the overall Swiss economy. She added that the measures will also involve “focused and effective” proposals to boost financial institution liquidity and restrain the excessive bonuses received by certain bankers.The announcement follows a multi-month review by Swiss authorities that “revealed deficiencies” in the current regulations and comprises a package of 22 measures, a government statement said.”Implementation of the package is expected to markedly reduce the probability of another systemically important Swiss bank encountering a severe crisis and the necessity of emergency government intervention,” it said.Among the potential measures is a move — long-advocated by critics who argue that Swiss banking regulations have been too relaxed — to reinforce the powers of the Swiss financial markets regulator FINMA, enabling it to impose fines for misconduct. This agency, along with government officials and bank executives, played a pivotal role in brokering the 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.48 billion) mega-merger after Credit Suisse customers swiftly withdrew their funds amid years of scandals.Swiss authorities last year harbored concerns that the collapse of such a major lending institution as Credit Suisse could further destabilize global financial markets after the failure of two U.S. banks. The turbulence tarnished Switzerland’s standing as a major financial hub.