Swiss parliamentarians have voted against a SFr109bn government-backed liquidity package underpinning UBS’s takeover of rival Credit Suisse, in a symbolic move indicative of swelling opposition to the deal.

Switzerland’s lower house on Wednesday afternoon voted down the government bill to authorise the bailout, repeating the results of an initial vote held on Tuesday night and rejecting a compromise proposal in a ballot that finalises parliament’s stance on the rescue.

However, the move comes too late to actually stop taxpayers’ money from smoothing the takeover of the two banks as parliament’s financial delegation, which exercises independent authority in such matters, ratified the government bailout in the absence of MPs earlier this month. Swiss MPs are volunteers who only formally sit for twelve weeks a year.