Today's Challenges
The Zurich Financial Center's position of strength both within Switzerland and in the international arena is not something that can be taken for granted. It was developed over the decades at the cost of much hard work, and it has to be constantly reinforced in a fiercely competitive environment. Those responsible are aware of the challenges that currently face them. Business people and politicians are pulling in the same direction so that Zurich will maintain its influential status as time goes on.
The Financial and Economic Crisis
The financial and economic crisis has triggered major changes in the world's banking sector. Switzerland and Zurich were not entirely spared from these developments, but Zurich started out from a better position than many of its rival financial centers elsewhere in the world. Government debt, a key location factor, remains low in Switzerland as compared to other countries.
Provided that the parliament and the supervisory authorities draw the right conclusions to assure cross-boder financial services, the financial centers of Switzerland and Zurich in particular have excellent chances of maintaining their international competitive edge.
Banking Confidentiality and Tax
Bank client confidentiality is one of many trump cards that the Swiss financial center can play. Client privacy is a core element of the service. However, no protection is given to criminals. As a result of international pressure, Switzerland will in future provide official administrative assistance not only in cases of tax fraud but also for tax evasion. However, this will only happen when justified requests are submitted with precise information. The Swiss financial center categorically rejects fishing expeditions by foreign tax authorities and the automatic exchange of information on tax matters.
Radical Changes in the Stock Market Landscape
Striking changes are also emerging in the stock market landscape, both in Europe and throughout the world. To an increasing extent, the importance of physical locations has to be re-assessed in the light of the triumphant progress of electronic data processing. However, the systems in the securities business developed historically, and they still have a strong national focus due to the continued existence of regulatory differences based on political self-interest. This situation will change fundamentally in the coming years, and the changes will affect all three areas: trading, clearing, and settlement. The Zurich Financial Center has good prospects of continuing to play an important part in this competitive environment in the future. The integrated stock exchange infrastructure of the SIX Group provides a very promising basis for this purpose (Swiss Value Chain).
Improved Market Access
The Swiss financial center is a very open market which is accessible to all its competitors in this country and abroad. Unfortunately, this principle does not apply to the same extent in reverse. Swiss banks and insurance companies find that they are confronted with numerous obstacles to cross-border business from Switzerland. This places severe constraints on the sector's ability to develop. Improved market access for cross-border financial services from Switzerland is therefore one of the sector's principal demands.