Tag Archives: Business

It is estimated that about a third of the oil traded globally is bought and sold in Switzerland. Keystone/Sergey Ponomarev Switzerland will decide case by case whether to curtail traders’ purchases from Russia’s state-controlled companies under European Union sanctions. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) which is in charge sanctions confirmed the Swiss policy to follow in principle the EU measures, which aim to limit commodity deals to those deemed...

Switzerland’s electricity supply to end-users is secured by more than 600 companies. Suppliers range from small regional utilities to international energy groups. Most of them are public sector entities. © Keystone/Gaetan Bally The government has decided to prepare a bail-out plan for Switzerland’s main electricity companies to prevent an energy shortage. The aim is to ensure financial liquidity for companies trading energy on an international scale and to avoid an...

The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to rattle the Swiss property market. Prices for apartment buildings have hit a record high. But now the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates threaten to turn the tide. The Swiss real estate market recorded a bumper year in 2021. The total return, comprising rental income and value changes on properties, was higher for real estate investors than it had been in seven years. Prices have been heading in just one direction – up – for...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Authorities have registered over 16,500 refugees from Ukraine in federal asylum centres like the one pictured here in Basel, which Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter and the head of the State Secretariat for Migration Christine Schraner Burgener visited last week. © Keystone / Ennio Leanza Diaspora TV Switzerland launched a new service in Ukrainian on Sunday to help meet the information needs of refugees arriving from the war-torn country. The new service, which is...