PostFinance
 | |
 PostFinance headquarters in Bern | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1906 |
| Headquarters | Bern, Switzerland |
Area served | Switzerland |
Key people | Hansruedi Köng (Chairman) |
| Products | |
| CHF 2.2 billion (2009)[1] | |
 CHF 447.8 million (2009)[1] | |
| Parent | Swiss Post |
| Website | postfinance |
PostFinance Ltd is the financial services unit of Swiss Post which was founded in 1906. As of 2023, it is the fifth largest retail financial institution in Switzerland.[citation needed] Its main area of activity is in the national and international payments and a smaller but growing part in the areas of savings, pensions and real estate.
PostFinance is fully-owned by the Swiss government.[2]
History
[edit]In 2013, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) awarded PostFinance a bank licence.[3] In 2015, PostFinance was declared a "Systemically important financial institution" in Switzerland by the Swiss National Bank, which means the bank must follow special regulations with regards to liquidity and equity.[4] In 2016, PostFinance started to levy a 1% annual fee on deposits of above 1 million francs.[5]
In 2020, PostFinance's profits fell to 131 million Swiss francs (from 246 million in 2019[6] and 229 million francs in 2018[7]) and its customers to 2.69 million (from 2.74 million in 2019).[6] 129 jobs were cut to adjust to the revenue drop (500 jobs were also cut in 2018).[8]
In early 2021, the Swiss government was considering the privatization of the bank to allow it to act like a regular private financial institution (including granting mortgages and loans). This process would however imply changing the Postal Act and have the government back the bank's capital during a transition phase.[9] In February 2022, the Russian oligarch and resident of Switzerland Viktor Vekselberg won a lawsuit against PostFinance after the bank had closed his account in 2018 following sanctions imposed on him by the US authorities.[10]
In April 2023, it was announced that PostFinance will provide its customers with access to cryptocurrencies - Bitcoin and Ethereum. The project is being implemented in partnership with the Sygnum cryptobank. The decision was made against the backdrop of a massive flow of customer funds into cryptocurrencies.[11]
Description
[edit]PostFinance has an AA+ credit rating from Standard & Poor's.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Key figuresaccount, PostFinance, retrieved 26 December 2010
- ^ Samuel Gerber, Postfinance: Why the End of the Ban Matters, Finews.com, 6 September 2018
- ^ FINMA, Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht. "PostFinance Ltd is placed under FINMA supervision". Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA.
- ^ "Federal Council adopts report on systemically important banks". sif.admin.ch.
- ^ Swiss bank PostFinance to charge millionaire deposit holders, Reuters.com, 11 November 2016
- ^ a b Allen, Matthew (11 May 2021). "Swiss postal bank turns up digital dazzle to arrest declining fortunes". Swissinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ Postfinance Chief Sends Letter Warning of Tough Times Ahead, Finews.com, 6 November 2019
- ^ Florian Wicki, Postfinance: New Strategy, New Job Cuts, Finews.com, 27 October 2020
- ^ Government wants to privatise PostFinance bank, Swissinfo.ch, 20 January 2021
- ^ Vekselberg wins lawsuit against PostFinance bank, Swissinfo.ch, 17 February 2022
- ^ "PostFinance partners with Sygnum Bank to offer cryptocurrencies". Sygnum Bank. 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
[edit]
Media related to PostFinance at Wikimedia Commons
- (in English) Official website
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