Banking in Switzerland dates to the early 18th century through Switzerland's merchant trade and has, over the centuries, grown into a complex, regulated, and international industry. Banking is seen as emblematic of Switzerland. The country has a long history of banking secrecy and client confidentiality reaching back to the early 1700s. Starting as a way to protect wealthy European banking interests, Swiss banking secrecy was codified in 1934 with the passage of a landmark federal law, the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks. These laws, which were used to protect assets of persons being persecuted by Nazi authorities, have also been used by people and institutions seeking to illegally evade taxes, hide assets, or generally commit financial crime.
Swiss Bank Corporation was a Swiss investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. Prior to its merger, the bank was the third largest in Switzerland, with over CHF 300 billion of assets and CHF 11.7 billion of equity.
Marcel Louis Ospel was a Swiss banker and the longtime head of the multinational investment bank UBS.
The Swiss National Bank is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking economic developments into consideration.
Banque Cantonale de Genève (BCGE) is a limited company established under Swiss public law, resulting from the merger of the Caisse d'Épargne de la République et Canton de Genève and the Banque Hypothécaire du Canton de Genève. It is one of the 24 cantonal banks.
Ralph Lewin is a Swiss politician and the former member of the Government Council of the Canton of Basel-City from 1997 to 2008. From 2010 to 2017, Lewin served on the board of directors for Bank Coop and in the Bank Council of its majority owner Basler Kantonalbank. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. Since 2020 he is president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities.
The cantonal banks are 24 Swiss government-owned commercial banks. Most of them were founded between 1834 and 1916, although the Banque cantonale du Jura was founded in 1979, as the canton of Jura was not formed until 1978, by its separation from the Canton of Berne. 21 are provided by the canton in which they are based, with a guarantee for the assets held there.
UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world. UBS client services are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy. Because of the bank's large positions in the Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank.
Zurich Cantonal Bank is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in Switzerland, as well as the leading financial services provider in the Greater Zürich area, with total assets of over CHF 150 billion.
Wegelin & Co. is a former private bank that was located in St. Gallen in the Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, and specialized in private banking and asset management.
VP Bank AG is a Liechtenstein-based bank headquartered in Vaduz and specialized in private banking. It was founded on April 6, 1956 by Princely Councillor of Commerce Guido Feger and is one of the three major banks in Liechtenstein along with the LGT Group and the LLB.
Raiffeisen Switzerland is a cooperative of cooperatives – the union of all independent Swiss Raiffeisen banks. It bears responsibility for the business policy and strategy within the Raiffeisen Group. The 219 independent Raiffeisen banks of Switzerland are organised as cooperatives. With 896 branch offices in total, they make up the densest branch network of any Swiss bank. After the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, the Raiffeisen Group has become the second-largest banking group in Switzerland with client assets under management of 246.6 billion francs. Since June 2014, Raiffeisen has been classified as one of Switzerland's systemically important banks and must therefore meet special requirements in terms of capital. Raiffeisen Switzerland has 3.65 million clients in Switzerland, of whom approximately 1.9 million are cooperative members and thus co-owners of their regional Raiffeisen banks.
Hyposwiss Private Bank Ltd was a Swiss private bank, located in Zurich, that closed in 2013.
Aargauische Kantonalbank is a cantonal bank based in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland. Its head office is situated at Aarau (AG). Founded in 1913, Aargau Cantonal Bank in 2021 had 832 employees and 32 offices in Switzerland, total assets were 31 777.48 mln CHF.
Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank (BLKB) is a Swiss cantonal bank which is part of the 24 cantonal banks serving Switzerland's 26 cantons. The bank was founded in 1864.
The Berner Kantonalbank AG (BEKB) (in French: Banque Cantonale Bernoise SA (BCBE)), operating under the brand name "BEKB | BCBE" and based in the Swiss canton of Bern, is a public limited company under private law founded in 1834 as one of the first cantonal banks of its kind, serving Switzerland's 26 cantons. At the end of 2020, the total financial assets of BEKB were valued at 36.4 billion Swiss francs with their staff comprising approximately 1,230 employees (or 1,000 full-time equivalents).
Bank Cler is a Basel-based Swiss bank founded in 1927. The bank's main area of activity is retail banking for private individuals and small and medium-sized companies. Until it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Basler Kantonalbank in 2019 the bank's shares were listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Thurgauer Kantonalbank is a Swiss cantonal bank serving the canton of Thurgau. The head office is based in Weinfelden.
Schwyzer Kantonalbank is a cantonal bank serving and wholly owned by the Swiss Canton of Schwyz. The head office is based in Schwyz.
Schaffhauser Kantonalbank is a Swiss cantonal bank that serves and is based in Schaffhausen. It is wholly owned by the Swiss Canton of Schaffhausen and serves the area with six branches and ten ATMs. The bank offers both public and commercial banking services including savings, cards, real estate and investments.
