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BancaStato and the domestic banks

The State bank after a century

The Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino, known since its rebranding as BancaStato, was created in 1915 as an autonomous foundation under cantonal public law in the aftermath of the banking crash of 1914 described in Chapter C.IV. The ABT records that its foundation was the result of cooperation between the cantonal government, the Swiss banking cartel and the main local banks.1 More than a century later it is the largest bank with its head office in the canton and the only one whose liabilities are fully guaranteed by the State.2 Under federal law a cantonal bank is a bank established on the basis of a cantonal legislative act as an institution or a company under public law, in which the canton holds more than one third of the capital and the votes; the canton may guarantee all or part of its liabilities (Art. 3a of the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks, BankA).3 The organization of BancaStato, its mandate, the guarantee and the remuneration of the canton are governed by the cantonal law on the Banca dello Stato (Legge sulla Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino, LBSt), which the Grand Council has amended several times.4

The figures of recent years illustrate the bank's role as lender to the cantonal economy and as a source of revenue for the canton. For 2023, the report of the Grand Council's committee on the annual accounts recorded a net profit of CHF 85.1 million, a payment to the canton as owner of CHF 65.1 million, a staff of 441.15 full-time positions and mortgage credit of CHF 11.8 billion.5 In 2022 the bank's total assets stood at about CHF 18.6 billion.6 For 2025 the bank reported an operating result of CHF 110.7 million, a group profit of CHF 60.1 million and a payment to the canton of CHF 57.4 million. Over five years the canton received CHF 271.2 million and over ten years CHF 464.8 million. The group employed 621 persons.7 The president of the executive board, Fabrizio Cieslakiewicz, described 2023 and 2024 as "unrepeatable" years of exceptional interest income and asked that 2025 be compared with "normal" years such as 2021 and 2022. Compared with 2021, the group profit of 2025 was 8.9 per cent higher, and the payment to the canton rose from CHF 43.3 million to CHF 57.4 million.8

Expansion into private banking: Axion and the former BSI business

BancaStato is a retail and commercial bank, but it has twice extended its business into areas once occupied by private banks. In early 2010 it acquired UniCredit (Suisse) Bank SA, the Swiss private banking subsidiary of the Italian UniCredit group, for CHF 57.5 million. The bank, renamed Axion SWISS Bank, managed about CHF 2.2 billion of assets, all from foreign clients. The acquisition required an amendment of the cantonal law on BancaStato and was soon contested in the Grand Council. A motion of the Greens of 26 September 2011 pointed out that Axion's gross profit had fallen from CHF 5.1 million in 2009 to CHF 1.0 million in 2010, as the financial crisis and the repatriation of assets under the Italian tax amnesties reduced its income. The cantonal government's report on the motion of 2 May 2012 recalled that the State guarantee did not extend to the subsidiary.9 Axion Swiss Bank joined the ABT as a separate member in 2010 and still appears among its members.10 The case shows both the attraction and the risk of private banking for a cantonal bank: the business promised commission income independent of interest rates, but it brought exposure to precisely the Italian tax developments that were then shrinking the market.

The second extension was of a different kind. After EFG International took over BSI in 2016, the retail and commercial banking activities of the former BSI in Ticino passed to BancaStato.11 For the canton's oldest commercial bank, founded in 1873 with a strong local franchise in addition to its international private banking, this meant that its domestic clients found a new home at the State bank, while its international private banking business moved to EFG. The episode illustrates a pattern that recurs throughout this chapter. When an international institution leaves or changes its strategy, the domestic business tends to be absorbed by the domestic banks, which thereby gain in relative weight.

Notes

  1. Associazione Bancaria Ticinese, "Cenni storici" (above) ("La nascita nel 1915 della Banca dello Stato, una fondazione autonoma di diritto pubblico"). ↩
  2. Wikipedia, "Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banca_dello_Stato_del_Cantone_Ticino ("full state guarantee of its liabilities"). Used as a last resort. ↩
  3. Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks of 8 November 1934 (Banking Act, BankA), SR 952.0, Art. 3a. ↩
  4. Legge sulla Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino (LBSt), Raccolta delle leggi del Cantone Ticino. The need to amend the LBSt for the acquisition of UniCredit (Suisse) Bank is recorded in the Consiglio di Stato's report on motion M6631 (below). ↩
  5. Gran Consiglio della Repubblica e Cantone Ticino, committee report no. 8422 R on BancaStato's annual report and accounts 2023, https://www4.ti.ch/fileadmin/POTERI/GC/allegati/rapporti/28868_8422%20R.pdf ("L'utile netto progredisce e si attesta a CHF 85,1 milioni"; "Il versamento alla proprietà ammonta a CHF 65,1 milioni"; "441.15 UP"; mortgage credit "pari a CHF 11.8 miliardi"). ↩
  6. Wikipedia, "Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino" (above) (total assets CHF 18,620.37 million in 2022). Used as a last resort. ↩
  7. laRegione, report on BancaStato's results for 2025 (13 March 2026), https://www.laregione.ch/1910993. ↩
  8. laRegione (13 March 2026, above). ↩
  9. Gran Consiglio, motion "BancaStato; e dire che i Verdi l'avevano detto" (26 September 2011) and report of the Consiglio di Stato (2 May 2012), M6631, https://www4.ti.ch/fileadmin/POTERI/GC/allegati/odg-mes/pdf/M6631.pdf. ↩
  10. Associazione Bancaria Ticinese, "Membri", https://www.abti.ch/associazione/membri/ (Axion Swiss Bank SA, member since 2010). Whether Axion remains a wholly owned subsidiary of BancaStato in 2026 has not been verified. ↩
  11. laRegione, article on EFG International (20 May 2026), https://www.laregione.ch/cantone/ticino/1926776/servizi (the retail and commercial activities of the former BSI in Ticino were subsequently taken over by BancaStato). The date and terms of the transfer have not been verified. ↩

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 October 2026.

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