Tag Archives: Business

The role of energy supply is crucial for economic growth in Switzerland according to KOF director Jan-Egbert Sturm. Keystone / Arno Balzarini Economic researcher Jan-Egbert Sturm expects the Swiss economy to stagnate in the next few months. The director of the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) at Federal Institute ETH Zurich, said Switzerland had been been quite resilient in the current economic environment. “Resilience is based on stable political institutions, a...

Credit Suisse is banking on petrodollars from Saudi Arabia to shore up its precarious situation. Keystone / Oliver Berg Swiss bank Credit Suisse has returned to the Middle East to shore up its finances amid mounting losses and a deteriorating balance sheet. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, built up a 5% stake in Switzerland’s second largest bank. Now the Saudi National Bank has accepted...

Switzerland’s budget faces a sizeable deficit despite fewer pandemic costs than expected. Keystone / Gaetan Bally The coronavirus pandemic will have a lighter impact on Swiss state finances than previously feared but will still put the country’s budget in the red, the finance ministry forecasts. Measures to support companies and workers during the pandemic were expected to cost CHF7.4 million ($7.4 billion) during the last forecast in June. But on Wednesday, the...

Credit Suisse is attempting to recover from a catastrophic sequence of business reversals and scandals. © Keystone / Walter Bieri Swiss bank Credit Suisse is shedding thousands of jobs, selling off parts of its business and raising billions in extra capital in a bid to reverse a downward spiral in fortunes. The bank announced on Thursday that it will slim down from a current headcount of 52,000 to 43,000 by the end of 2025. The job cuts will start this year with...

The Swiss government has proposed amending the Tobacco Act to introduce a new tax for electronic cigarettes. Parliament has been asked to back the proposal, which is forecast to bring in around CHF13.8 million ($13.8 million) in extra tax revenues per year. The proposed tax rate for reusable e-cigarettes is CHF0.20 per millilitere of liquid containing nicotine. For single-use e-cigarettes, the government is aiming for CHF1 per millilitre of liquid – regardless...

Credit Suisse is one of Switzerland’s systemically important banks. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Credit Suisse Group and the French financial prosecution office have agreed to settle a tax fraud and money laundering case in France with a €238 million (CH234 million) payment to the state, a French court heard on Monday. The settlement still needs to be approved by the court. If approved, the payment would resolve the investigation led by the France’s financial...

Credit Suisse is preparing to sell parts of its Swiss domestic bank as it attempts to close a capital hole of around CHF4.5 billion, according to people briefed on the discussions. With less than two weeks until the lender is due to present plans for a radical strategic revamp, executives are also in the final stages of plotting a heavy round of job cuts, which could affect up to 6,000 of the group’s 50,000 global employees. Ulrich Körner was installed as Credit...

Uber’s activities in Switzerland have sparked legal disputes. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Dozens of taxi drivers staged a strike in Geneva to protest a decision by the authorities to allow the ride-hailing company to resume business in the Swiss city. The strike follows months of dispute and failed negotiations over the conditions of Uber drivers and the legal status of the American company. On Friday, the Geneva authorities decided to suspend a ban on Uber...

Cornelia Ritz Bossicard leads swissVR, an independent Swiss association of board members. She explains the role that boards of directors and their members play in steering businesses. A director of the board for several companies, Bossicard became president of swissVR in 2018. The aim of swissVR is to strengthen the skills of Swiss boards by offering a forum for sharing experiences, organising company visits, publishing surveys and reports, and providing...

Switzerland has been criticised for turning a blind eye to legal advisors and others who allow wealthy people to hide their money. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally The Swiss government has asked the finance ministry to draft a bill to increase transparency of beneficial owners of legal entities to help tackle financial crime. The bill should introduce a central register for identifying beneficial owners and new obligations when it comes to risks of financial crime, the...