The Geneva financial centre in international comparison

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

The profitability of Swiss wealth management institutions is regularly compared with that of their foreign competitors. The Asian and Gulf financial centres benefit from salary costs that are sometimes lower, from lighter taxation and from faster growth in local fortunes. The large American banks have a scale and an integration with investment banking that the Geneva houses lack. European institutions, on the other hand, are subject to regulatory constraints and a fragmentation of markets that can place them at a disadvantage.

The Geneva financial centre retains strengths in this comparison: the quality and stability of its framework, its accumulated expertise, the loyalty of its clients, the presence of groups of global scale and the density of its ecosystem. It suffers from handicaps: the cost of living and of salaries, the taxation of individuals, limited access to the European market and the small size of its domestic market.

Sector studies highlight the growing polarisation between highly profitable institutions, often large or highly specialised, and institutions in difficulty, often of intermediate size.¹ This polarisation, which fuels consolidation, is expected to continue. It is in the interest of the financial centre that the institutions that make it up should be profitable, because profitability finances investment, innovation and compliance, and it determines the capacity to attract capital and talent.

Key points. The price of talent, the valuation of institutions as a percentage of assets, the risks of integration, the triangular relationship with independent managers and the international comparison complete the analysis of the business model. The profitability of the financial centre determines its capacity to invest and to transform itself.

Notes

KPMG, Clarity on Swiss Private Banks 2025 (press release of 26 June 2025, kpmg.com): 83 private banks in 2024, fewer than 80 expected at the end of 2025, around 76 having disappeared since 2010; 22 banks report a return on equity above 10%, while 9 are loss-making, which illustrates the polarisation of the sector. ↩

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 →

The Geneva financial centre in international comparison

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?