Bankers Day 2024: a stable financial centre in uncertain times 

In his speech, SBA Chairman Marcel Rohner looked back far into the past and explained how, despite two world wars, one Cold War and other global political uncertainties, Switzerland turned itself into a world-leading financial centre during the 20th century. He stressed how important trust in Switzerland’s security and stability has always been and still is as an argument for people all over the world to store a significant share of their assets here. Even today, clients trust that their property enjoys both physical and legal protection in our country. 

Security and stability 

According to Rohner, efforts and initiatives to introduce confiscatory taxes fundamentally call this protection into question. Confiscating assets frozen by sanctions without due process under applicable laws, he said, would undermine our entire legal system and thus the foundation of our free society.  

Rohner believes that security, stability and reliability are the core values that explain why customers place their trust in Swiss banking. He noted that how they are influenced by geopolitical events and how Switzerland is able to position itself internationally are as decisive for the financial centre today as they have ever been.  

Reliable, consistent regulation 

Rohner also discussed the topic of regulation: “There are good reasons why the banking and currency system is a regulated market. The monopoly on currency and banknote issuance anchors it firmly to the state.” He explained that the two-tier financial system with the participation of commercial banks was deliberately designed to supply credit and implement currency policy, and it depends on trust. 

For that reason, regulations on capital adequacy, liquidity, customer identification and the prevention of money laundering are needed to build trust, backed up by a range of additional codes of conduct. Needless to say, this Swiss regulatory system must be internationally recognised. 

“Our banks do not just comply with these rules, in many cases they go far beyond them. Individual violations and misconduct should be punished without penalising everyone,” he added. 

A banking system for the future 

Rohner said that the crisis of March 2022 and the events at Credit Suisse certainly presented a good learning opportunity. “There are measures and changes that take account of developments on the international financial markets and make our banking system more secure for the future, and we should implement them swiftly,” he added. However, he pointed out, weakening the financial centre that is so vital to our nation with a disproportionate wave of regulation would be a counterproductive overreaction. 

Rohner said that the financial centre’s continued success going forward is rooted in Switzerland’s foreign and economic policy and its promotion as a business location, but he predicted that the nation’s future prosperity would be increasingly shaped by decisions and responses to issues far removed from the everyday reality of banking. 

He concluded by saying, “A lot of things we used to think were set in stone have very suddenly changed, been turned around or vanished into thin air. In this ever-changing and unpredictable world, we need to be clever and circumspect. 
We have everything we need to do that.” 

 The Swiss financial centre’s global competitiveness 

Some 350 people listened to the speech in the auditorium of Geneva’s Maison de la Paix, among them high-ranking representatives of the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss Armed Forces, political parties and the Federal Administration. Denis Pittet, President of the Geneva Financial Center foundation, emphasised the synergistic relationship between the financial centres of Geneva and Zurich in his welcome speech. He noted that both cities possess unique strengths that complement each other and are crucial to the global competitiveness of the Swiss financial centre. 

Christoph Heusgen, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, spoke about the current tensions around the world and stressed the need for a differentiated approach to implementing sanctions.  

Thomas Jordan attended Bankers Day for the final time as Chairman of the Swiss National Bank’s Governing Board. In a talk moderated by Nathalie Randin, he and Alexandre Fasel, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, discussed the many global crises of the past 20 years and looked ahead to the future.  

Banks need comprehensive risk management 

Bankers Day ended with a panel discussion on Switzerland’s future positioning in the international arena featuring SBA CEO Roman Studer together with Renaud de Planta, former Senior Managing Partner of Pictet Group, and Christoph König, Deputy State Secretary for International Finance. The three panellists agreed on a number of key points: Switzerland must play a more active role in determining and implementing international sanctions in order to protect its interests more effectively; the banks need comprehensive risk management to keep geopolitical risks under control; and the Swiss financial sector must constantly communicate its strengths both at home and abroad. Roman Studer referred to the latest study by the SBA in conjunction with zeb consulting, "The impact of geopolitical risks on Swiss Banking".

The SBA looks forward to the next Bankers Day on 16 September 2025 in Bern.