Retail banking and the cantonal bank in the Geneva model

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

The business model of the financial centre cannot be reduced to international wealth management. Commercial and retail banking constitutes, according to the Fondation Genève Place Financière, the third pillar of the sector, alongside wealth management and trade finance.¹ It serves the households and businesses of the canton: current accounts, savings, mortgage loans, corporate lending, payments.

The Banque cantonale de Genève, born of the merger of the canton’s savings bank and mortgage bank, occupies a central place in this pillar.² Its history, marked by a serious crisis at the end of the 1990s that led to a costly intervention by the canton, illustrates the risks of property lending and of the governance of public banks. Today it serves a local client base while developing wealth management and trade finance activities.

Retail banking follows a business model different from that of wealth management: it rests more heavily on the interest margin, on the volume of transactions and on the control of distribution costs. It is exposed to credit risk, in particular property risk, in a canton where prices are high. It contributes to the stability of the financial centre by offering residents and businesses essential services, and it constitutes a point of entry to wealth management for clients whose wealth is growing.

Notes

Fondation Genève Place Financière, presentation, geneve-finance.ch (accessed September 2026). ↩
Banque cantonale de Genève created on 1 January 1994 by the merger of the Caisse d’épargne de la République et canton de Genève (1816) and the Banque hypothécaire du canton de Genève (1847), a merger approved in a cantonal vote on 6 June 1993 by 88% of the votes; BCGE, “L’histoire de la BCGE”, bcge.ch (accessed September 2026). ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

English

Contact

Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

Get in touch →

Retail banking and the cantonal bank in the Geneva model

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?