Foreign banks grapple with many of the same concerns as local Swiss banks. In private banking, top line margins continue to be under pressure while operating costs tied to regulation remain a challenge. Further, new cross-border regulations like MiFID II or GDPR are being digested by the banks. For corporate and investment banks, 2017 was a strong year and 2018 continues to have good momentum given broad corporate activity.

«Everyone is thinking about how to deploy digital technologies»

The main questions we are looking at will be the future of Swiss corporate tax reform, geopolitical tensions and trade wars possibly impacting markets and trade flows. Finally, everyone is thinking about how to deploy digital technologies and how to protect themselves on cyber-security. It definitely is not boring!

Switzerland has a lot of ideas – data security, asset management, sustainable finance, fintech, and others – to revive the traditional banking industry. How promising do the foreign banks view a shift to be?

For many foreign banks, Switzerland remains an important market due to its legal certainty, political and monetary stability, professionalism and international connectivity. New areas of competence are emerging that can enhance its value proposition. Data privacy and security is a key concept in the re-imagening of the Swiss financial center. We are also seeing the development of fintech propositions where Switzerland is punching above its weight, especially around the blockchain ecosystem.

«Even cantons are starting to compete against one another»

Even cantons are starting to compete against one another by setting up attractive legal, tax and governance frameworks to support the growth of this new sector. Finally, we are seeing the UN sustainable development goals be adopted by top firms to set strategic priorities. It’s exciting times and the entire banking system will need to address such developments to remain competitive in a digital, global future.

What’s next for the AFBS?

We have several changes at the board level and will be looking forward to bringing some new faces onto the board. In the second half of the year we hope to continue our wider work on cyber resilience, fintech regulatory developments and assessing the outcome of Finma's «Kleinbank» pilot program for smaller banks. In addition, we have just started a new corporate and investment banking committee to look at ways foreign banks can cooperate in that field on common questions like outsourcing and know-your-client rules.

Kristine Braden was elected head of the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland on Tuesday. She has been the country officer for Switzerland, Monaco, and Liechtenstein for Citi since 2015. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, she is the highest-ranking woman in Swiss banking and a nearly 20-year veteran of the American bank. Braden has worked extensively in Asia and Latin America as well as Europe and is a board director at the Swiss Bankers Association. A passionate advocate of workplace diversity, she is also head of Advance, a Swiss network devoted to women's empowerment in business. She began her career as a relationship manager with Deutsche Bank in New York.