After the fall of CS, they sensed an opportunity: German banks now want to attack Switzerland

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A good year has passed since the Federal Council decided on the forced marriage of UBS and Credit Suisse (CS). A tremendous amount of money has flowed from Credit Suisse since then. Between October 2022 and June 2023 alone, it amounted to 211 billion francs. The beneficiaries are currently cantonal and regional banks. However, German banks also want a part of the CS customer portfolio.

In particular: Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank. The first is looking to grow its local corporate client business. Swiss SMEs should switch to Commerzbank, not UBS. “We want a big piece of the pie,” Marc Steinkat, 56, head of Commerzbank Switzerland, told CH Media newspapers on Monday. “We have grown by double-digit percentages every year and we expect this to accelerate further.”

Trust is low among the Swiss

Traditionally foreign banks have had a difficult time in Switzerland. In a survey by industry association Swissmem, only 30 percent of respondents said they relied on foreign lenders to fill the CS gap. Having had a hard time in Switzerland, Commerzbank had to concentrate the six branch network it established in 2014 in the Zurich location.

“We learned a lot, sharpened our business model, focused more on trade financing and differentiated Commerzbank’s added value better than other banks,” Steinkat says of his apprenticeship in Switzerland. “Our customers strongly encourage us to continue growing in Switzerland.”

Deutsche Bank: Focus Zurich

This must be successful because Commerzbank says it has 11 billion francs of outstanding loan commitments from Swiss corporate clients. A significant amount that will damage CS.

Deutsche Bank is also launching an attack on Swiss corporate banking. Germany’s largest lender wants to soon move its support of medium-sized Swiss corporate clients with a turnover of 500 million francs or more from Frankfurt to Switzerland, CH-Media newspapers report. To date, Deutsche Bank has only served large Swiss companies locally. (nim)

Source :Blick