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Since the banking crisis in 2008, a lot has changed at the Deposit insurance throughout Switzerland done. At that time UBS almost collapsed and since then our Deposits up to CHF 100,000 per client per bank secured.
Then, in 2023, just in time for the debacle at Credit Suisse, a few More important changes to Swiss deposit protection added.
Exactly what deposit insurance looks like today, what you can do at Joint accounts and how badly things are unfortunately going with the Deposit protection of pension assets you can find out in this article!
The deposit guarantee scheme in Switzerland is a financial security systemwhich is intended to guarantee the security of your deposits (credit balances in bank accounts).
Should a Bank Bankruptcy Since 2008, a new Deposit guarantee of a maximum of CHF 100,000 per client per bank in Switzerland is secured.
The addition "per customer per bank" is important, as you will learn in a moment.
You should also know that here it is clear that Normal account balance the talk is. Securities, valuable metals (so-called metal accounts) and also cash on certain pension accounts are treated differently.
To understand the differences exactly, let's look at how Swiss deposit insurance currently works.
The Deposit Guarantee Switzerland is regulated by law and receives regular adjustments.
Basically, deposit protection in Switzerland works through the following components:
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Since 2023, the Deposit guarantee on joint accounts new and also better regulated. Since then, joint accounts have been regarded as separate relationships, which means that up to CHF 300,000 insured for two individuals are.
A total of up to:
Deposits at cantonal banks in Switzerland enjoy the highest level of security. This is because the cantonal banks' deposit guarantee is unsecured, i.e. also in excess of CHF 100,000.
Although this is not a guarantee, there is still another level of security here.
Attention exception: Not all cantonal banks are unsecured
The following cantonal banks are not protected without cover:
Since many have already forgotten, here is a brief look at the history of the cantonal banks: In 1994, the Solothurn Cantonal Bank got into great difficulties and eventually had to be privatised. The damage caused by the rescue of the cantonal bank amounted to CHF 400 million for the canton of Solothurn at that time.
Unfortunately, the deposit guarantee does not apply to all assets throughout Switzerland. In particular not for:
There is always an excited discussion on the internet about whether the Reserves are sufficient at allin order to be able to pay out all deposits quickly in the event of an emergency.
The 8 billion Swiss francs pledged since 2023 would quickly be exhausted in the case of a larger bank. If other banks were then affected (which is often the case, since the banks do business with each other), the pot would quickly be at risk. But is that really the case?
Example: With around 800,000 customer relationships, Migros Bank is one of the medium-sized banks in Switzerland. At Migros Bank alone, CHF 20 billion of customer deposits are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme throughout Switzerland. In the event of insolvency, the pot of CHF 8 billion would not be enough to cover them. In such a case, however, assets from the balance sheet (the balance sheet total is about CHF 50 billion) would probably be sold.
Should therefore one or even several major banks insolvent become, the Reserves probably not sufficient. But whether the electorate will then allow the catastrophe is another question.
However, you are not powerless. Because further down in the tips, you will find out how you can Protect assets intelligently can.
"Intelligent people learn from the mistakes of others".
We have compiled our top selection for you from all our tests and experience reports:
You heard earlier that in the Switzerland a coverage level of 1.6 % of the secured deposits is prescribed.
As a reminder: With 503 billion francs at present, this results in contributions of around 8 billion francs.
Deposit insurance in the EU
In the EU, only 0.8 % Coverage level prescribed and in most countries there is also a Upper limit of CHF 100,000 per investor per bank. However, there are exceptions depending on the bank. Many savings banks or cooperative banks provide unsecured deposit protection or cap deposits at 5 million euros, for example. A closer look can therefore be worthwhile.
Deposit insurance in the USA
In the USA, the deposit guarantee is USD 250,000. Here, therefore, a much higher cap is given than in Switzerland.
It is up to you to decide whether you trust a foreign bank and its security system more than a Swiss bank. With funds abroad, you should also consider the exchange rate risk, but more on that here in the blog.
To increase the security of your deposits, you need to know two things:
With this knowledge, you can use the following tips to protect your assets in Switzerland:
How do you safeguard your assets? Feel free to share it in the comments!
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