We give you a complete overview of all categories of banks that exist in Switzerland. We do not limit ourselves to publishing a top 10 list of the largest Swiss banks, as other websites do. That won’t help you much.

We compiled all the criteria, facts, and figures of banks in Switzerland that are useful to foreign investors. You will receive the know-how to tell: “Which Swiss bank is the safest?” on a silver plate.

There are a total of 243 banks in Switzerland (Swiss National Bank, last update 30.9.2021). Not all banks make their figures accessible.

As a foreign investor in Switzerland, you look for asset protection. You need accurate criteria, facts, and figures. You will be in a position to compare, choose and find the safest bank in Switzerland to deposit your money.

Swiss banks are known to be the safest banks in the world but they are reluctant to publish internal bank data. For the first time, we have created transparency in the secretive Swiss banking system.

You get valuable information for an initial assessment of the bank’s safety. You will be amazed at how easy it is to compare and choose Swiss banks. After all, you want to be sure that your money ends up in safe hands.

1. Swiss banks list (List of Swiss banks by total assets on the balance sheet)
2. Swiss banks categories
3. Best Swiss Banks
4. Swiss banks interest rates
5. Major Swiss Banks
6. Deposit insurance at banks in Switzerland
7. Rating Swiss banks
8. Cantonal Banks – unique in Switzerland
9. Swiss Private Banks
10. Swiss Banks FAQ (frequently asked Question)

Autor: Enzo Caputo
Banking Lawyer since: 1986

Position: Founder & CEO of the
Boutique Law Firm Caputo & Partners

Updated on: 25.02.2023

The balance sheet total is shown in thousands of Swiss francs.

With a click on the top field in a column, you can sort the table according to your wishes.

Source: Swiss National Bank

Banks in Switzerland are famous for their confidentiality (Swiss bank secrecy). Here you will find an overview of all 9 existing categories of Swiss banks. Furthermore, there are the 10 largest banks listed based on their total assets according to the balance sheets and the figures published by the Swiss National Bank SNB (update of the SNB on September 30th, 2021).

Swiss banks are divided into 9 categories:

1. Big banks
2. Other banking institutions
3. Foreign-controlled banks
4. Stock exchange banks
5. Branches of foreign banks
6. Cantonal banks
7. Private bankers
8. Raiffeisen banks
9. Regional and savings banks

There are 4 big banks only:

1. UBS AG
2. UBS (Switzerland) AG
3. Credit Suisse AG
4. Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG

These are banks that cannot be classified in any other category (example: PostFinance AG)

This includes banks that are owned by natural or legal persons resident or based abroad.

Stock exchange banks are private banks for private clients offering wealth management services. They are companies limited by shares.

In contrast to foreign-controlled banks, they do not have their own legal personality as branches. They report to the parent company abroad.

They are public institutes of a Canton. Most of them have a state guarantee.

Private bankers are wealth managers with international private clients. They must be distinguished from private banks (= stock exchange banks). They are liable with their private assets (“skin in the game”) as a sole proprietorship, general partnership, or limited partnership.

There are private bankers who publicly recommend accepting money from others and others who don’t. The latter do not have to publish annual reports or interim balance sheets. There are only 5 of them.

They mainly operate the classic interest-rate business with mortgages and business loans nationwide. They accept customer funds. They are organized as cooperatives.

They mainly operate the classic interest-rate business with mortgages and business loans on a regional basis. They accept customer funds. They are organized as stock corporations and partly also as cooperatives.

UBS Group AG is the largest wealth management bank in the world, making it number one in the international private banking business dedicated to wealthy individuals. It is a universal bank (as is Credit Suisse). as one of the big banks, it offers all banking services, including commercial banking, asset management, corporate finance, and investment banking.

UBS employs more than 75,000 people in over 50 countries. It has headquarters in Zurich and Basel. It is involved in many scandals like many other banks in Switzerland. UBS has paid horrendous fines in the billions for tax evasion. Despite this, the company made a profit of almost 7.5 billion dollars in 2021.

Credit Suisse is the second largest bank that offers all banking services (universal bank). Alfred Escher founded the bank on July 16, 1856, and it was formerly called Schweizerische Kreditanstalt. It has its headquarters in Zurich. With 50,000 employees, Credit Suisse has a global presence.

The good reputation of Credit Suisse diminished. The share has lost value. Investment bank activities will be reduced. Private banking will be more important. Nevertheless, the bank has a tier-one capital ratio of 13.5%. Arab investors from the Gulf region acquired large blocks slightly below 9,9% of shares at the end of October 2022. No doubt, they made a good deal!

The Raiffeisen Group takes over 3rd place in this list of the largest banks. Raiffeisenbank is the leader in the retail business. It has a local presence with 806 branches.

Strong ties with the population and a cooperative spirit have characterized these institutions for over 100 years. It has 3.6 million customers. The Group has 220 Raiffeisen branches organized as cooperatives.

Founded in 1870, Zurich Cantonal Bank is considered the safest bank in the world. It is one of the few banks with a AAA rating. As a non-private entity, the financial institution is owned by the Canton of Zurich with total assets of CHF 187.6 billion according to the balance-sheet 2021.

Zurich Cantonal Bank is known as ZKB. ZKB’s customers enjoy an unlimited state guarantee from the Canton of Zurich. All money of the clients in their Swiss bank accounts held with ZKB is protected by the government of the Canton of Zürich. This is unique in Swiss banking.

That is why ZKB is so popular. Foreign clients love ZKB even though it can be very difficult for non-resident clients to open a Swiss bank account with ZKB. ZKB is very selective with onboarding new clients. In contrast to the big banks, ZKB’s reputation is impeccable.

In 1906, a post office network was set up to handle payment transactions. The first postal checking account was opened in Basel. In 1920, the Swiss Post concludes agreements with the most important countries in Europe for transferring money. In 1988, electronic payments are launched with Telegiro PTT. Today, Postfinance has 2.6 million customers.

Bank Julius Bär & Co. Ltd. is a private bank founded in Zurich in 1890. As a classic wealth management bank, it manages nearly 500 billion client assets. Since 1980, the private bank has opened up to non-family investors.

Since 2005, the private bank is a listed public company, which belongs to the SMI (Swiss Market Index). Meanwhile, the Bär family holds less than 5% of the shares. It is considered the third largest asset management bank after UBS and Credit Suisse.

Of the 60 regional and savings banks, 35 are affiliated with the Entris Group. Most of the regional banks and savings banks were founded in the century before last. In 1971, they united as the Association of Swiss Regional Banks, thus creating an umbrella organization (VSRB).

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise was founded in 1845 with headquarters in Lausanne. It employs 1937 people and marks its local presence in the Canton of Vaud with 67 branches. It is one of the few cantonal banks that have no state guarantee.

Migros Bank is a company limited by shares founded in 1958 by Gottfried Duttweiler. Migros Bank has 76 branches spread all over Switzerland. It is very popular among the population. It is known for small loans at fair terms and conditions.

Basler Kantonalbank is a public law institution. The bank has a state guarantee from the Canton of Basel City and an AA+ rating from Standard & Poors. After Zurcher Cantonal Bank and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, Basler Kantonalbank follows immediately as the third largest cantonal bank in Switzerland.

The key interest rate of the Swiss National Bank has been increased to 0.50% on September 22, 2022. Finally, the era of negative interest rates has ended.

Interest rates in Switzerland are at 0.0% on private Swiss bank accounts and 0.01% on savings accounts at most banks. According to surveys with the banking sector, a major interest rate hike is unlikely to come until next year. Of course, everything depends on the monetary policy of the SNB. The key interest rate is the interest rate at which the SNB concludes transactions with the banks.

The Swiss franc is one of the most used escape currencies. In uncertain times, large fortunes from all over the world flowed to banks in Switzerland. The franc will appreciate against the euro (as he did in the past).

Because of the strong Swiss economy, the Swiss franc has proven to be one of the strongest currencies worldwide. Switzerland is considered a safe haven in the world of finance.

The Swiss franc is associated with low risk, high security, and stability, and protects from inflation and depreciation. Foreign investors like asset protection ensured by the Swiss government and Swiss banking law.

History proves it: Those who invest in Swiss francs win.

Swiss bank accounts are always multi-currency accounts as standard. This means that you get a separate IBAN for each currency under the same bank account number.

How far interest rates will rise depends on the monetary policy of the Swiss National Bank. Let’s wait and see.

The total assets on the balance sheets of all banking institutions have increased, except for the big banks. UBS’s total assets are still above the trillion mark. Unfortunately, they diminished by 3.3% as a result of currency differences.

Credit Suisse’s problems also caused its total assets on the balance sheet to shrink by 7.7%. Among the 10 largest banks, Raiffeisen Switzerland has the largest increase in total assets by almost 10%. Raiffeisen group remains in third place, ahead of Zürcher Kantonalbank with 4.8% growth and Postfinance with 3.6% growth.

With one exception, the cantonal banks posted strong growth in total assets. Basler Kantonalbank lost 1.8% in total assets. It slipped from 8th to 10th place.

The private banks posted record growth. Lombard Odier leads the way with a 23.5% increase in total assets. Lombard Odier is followed by Safra Sarasin with 11.4% growth and Banque Pictet with 7.9% growth.

The world has become more uncertain. The Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have given the banking sector record key figures.

If a bank goes bankrupt, there is deposit insurance of up to CHF 100,000 on liquid assets. Furthermore, you can take out all your invested assets from the bankruptcy proceedings.

This means that the investments do not fall into the bankruptcy estate of the bank. Rather, the customer can separate his invested assets from the bankruptcy estate and save them from creditors. Of the 24 cantonal banks, 21 have an unlimited state guarantee.

An unlimited state guarantee means that all your assets (liquid and illiquid assets) in the bank account are 100% protected.

Many searches the web for a rating. By far not all banks in Switzerland have asked for a rating from expensive rating agencies. Many of them do without a rating.

In order to do a first assessment of the safety of a Swiss bank you must consider a few things.

Here, you will find a detailed list of all data and criteria about Swiss private banks that allow an initial assessment here.

We collected all the data, although it wasn’t easy. We put every bench through its paces.

However, even an accurate assessment can never replace a personal consultation.

Among the banks in Switzerland, there are 24 cantonal banks. They are locally linked to the territory. The first cantonal bank was founded in Geneva in 1816. Small and medium-sized companies are the backbone of the economy.

The cantonal banks have granted loans to SMEs amounting to CHF 161 billion (according to the SNB, as of December 2021).

For more information and figures, please see the cantonal banks subpage.

There are 102 private banks in Switzerland. These are banks that offer a bank account for private banking for high-net-worth individuals. The safest private banks operate a conservative business model.

Instead of engaging in lending, investment banking, and trading activities, they prefer to offer their clients only well-capitalized private banks that focus only on low-risk asset management.

Foreign private clients want to maintain the purchasing power of their assets. They find political and economic stability in Switzerland. They want their money to end up in safe hands.

I promise you: If you deposit your money with a private bank recommended by me, you will sleep much better in the future. Swiss private banks are the safest banks in the world.

You can find more information about swiss private banks on our page for private banks in Switzerland.

We give you access to the safest banks and help you open an account. Private bankers appreciate immensely when full professionals they trust bring in clients. Give me a call with no obligation. It’s never too early, but it’s often too late.

“Take your money out of your country before your country takes it out from you.”

However, the best article and video can never replace a confidential consulting session with me, face-to-face at the table. Let’s find a private bank tailored to your needs and expectations.