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Nationally oriented banks have not felt adequately represented by the industry association for a long time. Now the third largest banking group is drawing the consequences and leaving. The bankers’ association feels unfairly pillory.
Resignation of the bankers’ association in March: Guy Lachappelle, chairman of the board of directors of Raiffeisen.
Photo: Keystone / Walter Bieri
An explosion in the banking industry: Raiffeisen Group, Switzerland’s third-largest banking group, will leave the bankers’ association at the end of March next year. “The banking industry and the interests of the various players in the Swiss financial center have changed significantly in recent years,” Raiffeisen said. “As a nationally oriented and cooperative banking group, Raiffeisen will represent its interests independently in the future,” he said.
In simple terms: the bankers association mainly represents the interests of the two large banks UBS and Credit Suisse, as well as the large private banks active abroad such as Julius Baer or Pictet. Within the bankers association, these banks have the majority of votes and therefore have a voice.
UBS & Co often has different interests than national banks such as Raiffeisen: the debate on regulation is mainly geared towards banks with international business: one example is the new investor protection standards Fidleg and Finig: they are based on the Mifid European Financial Law Package 2.
Outward-facing banks want to demonstrate the EU’s compliance to one day have a chance for a banking services market access agreement with the EU. Often times, these rules only generate costs for domestic banks and offer no business advantage, precisely because they do not have business abroad.
Another example is the SFI training institute of the Swiss Finance Institute: here banks bear costs according to the size of the bank; Raiffeisen, as Switzerland’s third-largest banking group, has to pay accordingly. However, only a few SFI graduates from Raiffeisen. Therefore, fellow creditors wanted to reform funding: banks, whose employees benefit most from the formation of the SFI, should pay more. But Raiffeisen didn’t make it either.
Smaller banks join forces
As early as 2012, the national banks joined on the initiative of Raiffeisen to coordinate the national banks (KIB). The KIB is made up of Raiffeisen-Schweiz-Genossenschaft, the Swiss Association of Cantonal Banks (VSKB), the Zürcher Kantonalbank, the Migros-Bank, the RBA-Holding (regional banks) and the Acrevis Group. The operational management of the KIB rests with the policy makers of the Cantonal Banks Association and Raiffeisen.
In 2018, regional banks such as Valiant or Clientis banks joined forces in their own association to give more visibility to their interests.
The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) regrets the departure of Raiffeisen. The banking association “will remain committed to the general interests of the banking center,” he says defiantly.
Imminent fragmentation
“Today, the regulation of financial markets has a very strong international character. International standards also have an impact on national regulation. All banks are affected by international regulatory trends, ”says the banking association.
In plain language: the banking association is not responsible for regulatory trends. In addition, the banking association achieved specific relief for small banks in regulation.
It is doubtful, however, that the sector will now increase its weight with the division into several sub-associations to get ahead in debates such as the framework agreement.
