## Switzerland: Financial Sector Assessment Program: Technical Note: The Swiss Banking System: Structure, Performance, and Medium-Term Challenges

_IMF Staff Country Reports, June 13, 2007_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Switzerland: Financial Sector Assessment Program: Technical Note: The Swiss Banking System: Structure, Performance, and Medium-Term Challenges](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/switzerland-financial-sector-assessment-program-technical-note-the-swiss-banking-system-21049)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: June 13, 2007
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451807349.002

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### Executive summary and scope
- Technical note discussing the banking system structure, performance, and medium-term challenges for Switzerland.
- The Swiss banking sector has been undergoing a substantial consolidation over the last 10 years, but retains a rich collection of institutional types operating in various business segments.
- Consolidation has been partly driven by competitive pressures following the burst of the housing market bubble and entailed a substantial reduction in the number of institutions and branches.
- Smaller banks have been also developing owing to various types of cost-sharing arrangements.

### Key findings on structure and market segments
- The sector retains a "rich collection of institutional types" operating in various business segments.
- Noted institutional types and subjects: Banking, Commercial banks, Cooperative banks, Financial institutions, Foreign banks.
- Keywords and indicators emphasized: bank assets, bank concentration ratios, bank segment, cantonal bank, Commercial banks, Cooperative banks, CR, Foreign banks, Global, ISCR, Productivity, Raiffeisen bank, TE estimate, Total factor productivity.

### Performance and drivers of consolidation
- Consolidation observed over the last 10 years.
- Competitive pressures following the burst of the housing market bubble identified as a driver of consolidation.
- Consolidation resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of institutions and branches.

### Medium-term challenges and sector dynamics
- Ongoing consolidation alongside persistence of diverse institutional forms implies adaptation challenges across business segments.
- Growth of smaller banks facilitated by various types of cost-sharing arrangements signals changing competitive and operational models within the Swiss banking system.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/switzerland-financial-sector-assessment-program-technical-note-the-swiss-banking-system-21049_