Tag Archives: 3.) Swissinfo Business and Economy

Switzerland’s shrinking banking universe has been bolstered by a new wealth management entrant, Alpian, which is aiming for the sweet spot between digital and human-centric services. Alpian has just secured a Swiss banking license along with a CHF19 million ($20.5 million) capital boost from the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo. Looking at the bare figures, Switzerland could do with some reinforcements. The number of separate banking entities in the Alpine state...

The organic food market in Switzerland experienced slower growth in 2021 than the previous year. However, consumers are spending more than ever on organic products. According to annual figures released by the organic food association Bio Suisse on Wednesday, the market for organic products grew 0.6% in 2021 to reach a share of 10.9% of the total market. In 2020, the association recorded a 4% growth in organic sales. One of the reasons for the slower growth is that...

Angehrn (left) and Amstad stressed that stability of the Swiss financial institutions is key for digitalisation and sustainability of the banking sector. © Keystone/Anthony Anex Switzerland’s financial market supervisor FINMA says the Russian invasion of Ukraine isn’t a wide-scale threat to Swiss financial firms’ business ties to Russia. FINMAExternal link’s chief executive Urban Angehrn said that, overall, the immediate effects of risks to the financial centre were...

Most of the refugees are women and children. If Switzerland is to benefit from the women’s skills in the workplace, it will have to solve a shortage of childcare places. Keystone / Peter Schneider Switzerland can cope with a large number of Ukrainian refugees, and their skills can benefit the economy, says migration expert Thomas Kessler. “The Ukrainian women will provide new impetus in this country,” he told the SonntagsBlick newspaper. “Especially in the IT sector,...

The number of companies and individuals declaring bankruptcy rose 9.1% last year, which coincided with a gradual withdrawal of state-backed financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 14,081 businesses and individuals filed for bankruptcy in 2021, which is 1,169 more declarations of insolvency than in 2020, the Federal Statistical Office said on MondayExternal link. The large increase in bankruptcies can be partially explained by the withdrawal of financial...

Thousands of Ukrainian refugees are finding that Swiss banks are refusing to convert the cash they brought with them into francs. More than 20,000 people fleeing the Ukraine war have registered in Switzerland so far. But they rely on the goodwill of Swiss families or state to support them as none can pay their way using the hryvnia currency that they have brought with them. Ukranian refugees with a special S PermitExternal link can open a Swiss bank account but...

Anyone using the internet is being watched, and possibly manipulated, via a trail of digital breadcrumbs known as metadata. Two Swiss companies, one backed by former United States military whistleblower Chelsea Manning, are setting up smokescreens to confuse prying eyes and protect web users from big tech companies and government surveillance. Nym Technologies and HOPR employ mix networks (mixnet) to churn together the metadata that people leave behind when they...

Switzerland has signed a declaration along with six other European states in favour of pooling gas storage facilities. Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the declarationExternal link on Wednesday, pledging to work towards coordinating storage efforts on a regional level. The agreement, which is not legally binding, comes after the European Commission announced plans to mandate natural gas storage for EU members each...

The Swiss government did not ban Russian media as has the European Union. Keystone / Mikhail Klimentyev The Swiss government on Friday adopted additional sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine but did not ban the Russian state TV channels Sputnik and Russia Today like the European Union. Switzerland joins the sanctions measures adopted by the European Union on March 9 and 15. It has already imposed a series of sanctions in line with the EU. The first...

A new poll shows that a majority of the Swiss population would be in favour of tougher sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, even if it results in higher energy costs in Switzerland. The poll published on Monday by the Institute Link found that 57% of people surveyed would support the freezing of all assets held in Switzerland by high-ranking Russian officials and government allies. Those questioned would also support de-linking Russian banks from the Swiss...