7. The Never Ending Swiss Legal Woes in the U.S.

The tax dispute with the U.S. still hasn't been closed for a few Swiss companies, among them Pictet, Rahn & Bodmer and HSBC Private Bank. They are among Tier-1 companies that the U.S. has opened an investigation against.

The Americans also probe corruption cases with evidence emerging from Switzerland. They include the Malaysian state fund 1MDB, FIFA, the world soccer association, as well as Brasilian and Venezuelan oil producers Petrobras and PDSVA.

8. Here Comes the No-Fee Bank

Their front office is a smart phone, the business idea retail banking for the masses and fees not worth mentioning: mobile banks will expand in Switzerland in 2019. Apart from Swiss players Zak (Bank Cler) and Neon, the local industry will mainly have to look out for global giants. Two companies that reportedly consider opening up in Switzerland are Germany's N26 and Revolut, a U.K.-based firm.

9. Corruption Allegations Abound

With the new year 2019, Swiss money laundering laws will be in tune with GAFI standards. It sounds ironic then that Swiss firms are mentioned in ever bigger corruption scandals. The case of the Petrobas oil firm is spectacular: the federal attorney froze some $800 million on Swiss accounts, opened 60 investigations on suspicion of qualified money-laundering and looked into more than 1,000 accounts at 40 banks. The sheer number of open cases may yet translate into something rather unfortunate for several of the involved firms.

FInma also is looking into allegations of money laundering at companies in Switzerland. A prominent case is the one against Julius Baer, the Zurich-based private bank. It seems that the FIFA and PDSVA cases have put the bank in the spotlight.