Tag Archives: 3) Swiss Markets and News

Canton Geneva recorded higher than normal bankruptcies and losses. (Keystone) Last year saw a record number of bankruptcy procedures opened in Switzerland, with almost 14,000 cases involving bust businesses and individuals. The record numbers, released on Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office, mark a 5.4% increase on 2017 and translate to overall financial losses of some CHF2 billion ($2 billion). Every canton in...

Johann Gevers was an early pioneer of the Swiss blockchain scene with his payments firm Monetas. Bankruptcy proceedings have been reignited against troubled Swiss digital payments company Monetas more than a year after the enterprise hit serious financial difficulties. Efforts to find a new buyer appear to have come to nothing as the firm goes into liquidation. An entry in the Swiss commercial registerexternal link...

Global investors have greatly expanded their power at major Swiss banks and companies. Global financial institutions are increasingly dominating the shareholders of major Swiss companies, according to the Sunday editionexternal link of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). The German-language newspaper points to Swiss banking giant Credit Swiss as a prime example of a financial institution where traditional shareholder...

© Eziogutzemberg | Dreamstime.com In 2016, before the effects of taxes and welfare, the highest earning 20% of Swiss households made on average 40.8 times what an average household in the bottom 20 percent made, an inequality measure known as the S80/S20. However, after taxes and welfare, including low income support, health insurance subsidies, pensions and disability benefits, the same income ratio fell to 4.4....

A FINMA stress test of 18 banks found that 70% of their investment property loans were at risk if conditions deteriorate. (© Keystone / Christian Beutler) The Swiss financial regulator has warned banks that rules on mortgage lending may be further tightened if they fail to control their appetite for dishing out real estate credit. Loans tipped the one trillion franc mark in 2017 and continue to swell, particularly in...

Switzerland would like to attract more Googles and fewer brass plate companies. (© Keystone / Christian Beutler) Switzerland attracted 282 foreign firms to set up shop in the alpine state, creating 899 jobs last year, according to cantonal economic chiefs. That’s an increase of 37 companies from 2017. Switzerland is in the throes of revamping its corporate tax system to keep it line with the competition rules of the...

The Raiffeisen bank branch in Ernen, canton Valais, Switzerland in 2018 Switzerland’s third-largest bank says it will cut up to 200 jobs to save CHF100 million ($100 million) this year. Raiffeisen is reorganising and undertaking a cost-cutting programme. This follows a recent fraud allegation scandal involving its former chief executive. The co-operative bank said in a statement on Thursdayexternal link: “In addition to...

© Sabine Katzenberger | Dreamstime.com Comparing 2018 to 2012, thefts in Switzerland fell by nearly half, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In 2012, there were a record 219,000 thefts recorded in Switzerland. By 2018, the figure had fallen to 112,000, a drop of 49%. Over the same period, all categories of theft with the exception of fraud were down. Car theft (-13%), bike theft (-20%), break-ins (-51%) and...

The campaigners say 99% of tax payers shoulder the burden of the wealthiest citizens in Switzerland. (© Keystone/Peter Klaunzer) The leftwing Young Socialist group has handed in the necessary signatures to force a nationwide vote on its proposal to increase tax on capital revenue in Switzerland. The initiative intends to tax dividends and interest on wealth by a factor of 1.5 compared with regular income tax. The...

In 2019, Swiss growth is expected to be subdued due to a combination of factors, including subdued domestic demand, a sustained regional slowdown, global trade tensions and Brexit The Swiss economy is likely to slow in 2019, with gross domestic product growth expected to hit 1.1%, followed by a “moderate” recovery in 2020, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. The IMF said in a concluding statement, published...