The banks must answer the question of how, in the long term, they can successfully provide their services – that is how a well-functioning market economy works. Allow me, nevertheless, to present a few fundamental considerations. In my view, the key to a successful future for the Swiss banks is that they focus consistently on high-quality services which offer customers measurable added value. Investment in the quality of staff and the product range is essential, especially in wealth management. This includes promoting a company culture with a focus on generating sustainable profits. In addition, robust and wellfunctioning risk controls are essential. All of this is necessary, if the banks are to regain the confidence they have lost and demonstrate their integrity. Moreover, politicians and the authorities can, and should, make a contribution to ensuring that the Swiss banking centre can look forward to a successful future. At the same time it  9  One indicator of the ongoing structural transformation is the fact that the number of banks in Switzerland has been declining continually for years. Between 2002 and 2012, over 50 institutions, or about one-seventh, disappeared. Cf. Swiss National Bank 2013a. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  must be clear that industrial policies per se – such as setting targets relating to the size or even the range of services to be provided by banks – should be avoided. We simply cannot know what impact current or future developments will have on the demand for financial services.
In terms of the usual indicators of the financial development of a country – such as the size of the financial sector or access to financial services – Switzerland has one of the most advanced  1  Cf. Levine 2005. BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  financial systems in the world.2 At the same time, the economic importance of the banking industry in this country is above average. It generates an annual gross value added of some 6% of GDP and currently employs about 150,000 people. In addition, at least in the years before the financial crisis, the industry made a significant contribution to overall economic growth.3 When banks are familiar with the local conditions and are also able to integrate knowledge concerning Swiss macroeconomic conditions into their business decisions, this enables them to provide particularly efficient services to the Swiss economy. It is therefore advantageous for our country to have locally established banks which make their decisions here in Switzerland. It is not only with services which benefit companies and households located in Switzerland that the Swiss banking industry creates value added. As we all know, the industry is also very active in the international arena – on the one hand, via exports,4 that is, through the cross- border provision of financial services from Switzerland, and on the other, through its actual presence abroad. In this respect, the most important source of income is the crossborder wealth management business for private customers.