Raiffeisen and cantonal banks benefit from the CS billions. They have been receiving copious amounts of money for months.
The billion-dollar bloodletting at Credit Suisse has arrived at Pilatusstrasse 12 in Lucerne, the headquarters of the Luzerner Kantonalbank. The people of Lucerne received around 30 percent more new money than in the previous year.
CEO Daniel Salzmann attributes the good result, among other things, to the “turbulence on the Swiss financial market”, as he states in writing. The turbulence is the downfall of CS. How much of the CHF 547 million in new money came from CS accounts cannot or does not want to be said by the Lucerne-based company.
Flederei corpses would go down badly
Other banks were also able to look forward to massively more new money. It was 34 billion last year for ZKB alone. 30 percent more than usual. At the same time, the profiteers don’t want to be too happy. “Leichenfledderei” is not well received, says Adriel Jost, economist and former advisor to the Swiss National Bank.
But: “The corks will definitely pop in the management. The success-related bonuses for the beneficiaries of the CS crisis will be high this year. And this without having to change anything in the offer.»
This is also reflected in the desolate picture of CS in the last two quarters. The outflow of funds amounts to more than 170 billion Swiss francs. It is not yet possible to conclusively assess how much customer money ultimately flowed to the Raiffeisen and cantonal banks.
Nevertheless, the statements of the domestic banks are generally meaningful, as a survey by Radio SRF shows. Practically all of them, including Postfinance, are recording significant cash inflows that can be traced back to the crisis of confidence surrounding CS. Money from private and business customers.
At the same time, the banks are vying for every franc. They target CS customers on Twitter and in newspaper ads. The Basler Kantonalbank emphasizes “stability” and “security”. The Berner Kantonalbank says: “I trust you too.”
boosted self-confidence
The domestic banks appear self-confident. According to economist Jost, the big banks in Switzerland have lost weight anyway: “Many cantonal banks, including the Raiffeisen banks, have invested heavily and created new offers so that they can serve their customers better.”
In fact, Raiffeisen and cantonal banks are constantly advancing into new fields via the traditional mortgage and lending business. Be it looking after very wealthy private customers, expanding beyond national borders or focusing on structured products.
The Confidence Bonus
However, something has not changed. The domestic banks have a trust bonus. Nobody knows this better than Daniel Künstle, who has been compiling an index on the reputation of Swiss companies since 1997.
This shows that those banks in particular that focus on Switzerland occupy a top position. While the global players like Credit Suisse and UBS can be found at the lower end of the scale.
Legend:
The reputation index of Swiss companies clearly shows that domestic banks were already benefiting from the collapse of high finance in 2008. Customers increasingly deposited their funds with regional financial institutions.
Keystone
According to Künstle, the Raiffeisen and cantonal banks are once again benefiting from a positive contrast to the struggling CS – like after the financial crisis in 2008. And even more sustainably than back then. Because the trend towards a de-globalization of the world economy is having an impact on the financial sector: “Today, short distances or smaller banks are synonymous with security.”