PostFinance

PostFinance Ltd
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
Founded1906; 118 years ago (1906)
HeadquartersBern, Switzerland
Area served
Switzerland
Key people
Hansruedi Köng (Chairman)
Products
CHF 2.2 billion (2009)[1]
Increase CHF 447.8 million (2009)[1]
ParentSwiss Post
Websitepostfinance.ch

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

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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

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PostFinance has an AA+ credit rating from Standard & Poor's.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Key figuresaccount, PostFinance, retrieved 26 December 2010
  2. ^ Samuel Gerber, Postfinance: Why the End of the Ban Matters, Finews.com, 6 September 2018
  3. ^ FINMA, Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht. "PostFinance Ltd is placed under FINMA supervision". Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA.
  4. ^ "Federal Council adopts report on systemically important banks". sif.admin.ch.
  5. ^ Swiss bank PostFinance to charge millionaire deposit holders, Reuters.com, 11 November 2016
  6. ^ a b Allen, Matthew (11 May 2021). "Swiss postal bank turns up digital dazzle to arrest declining fortunes". Swissinfo. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. ^ Postfinance Chief Sends Letter Warning of Tough Times Ahead, Finews.com, 6 November 2019
  8. ^ Florian Wicki, Postfinance: New Strategy, New Job Cuts, Finews.com, 27 October 2020
  9. ^ Government wants to privatise PostFinance bank, Swissinfo.ch, 20 January 2021
  10. ^ Vekselberg wins lawsuit against PostFinance bank, Swissinfo.ch, 17 February 2022
  11. ^ "PostFinance partners with Sygnum Bank to offer cryptocurrencies". Sygnum Bank. 5 April 2023.
  12. ^ "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)
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Media related to PostFinance at Wikimedia Commons

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