1. Constructing a Digital Fortress

It is worth your while looking at developments from another perspective, considering the situation of the financial market not only from the point of view of its key components. The Gafa firms, which seem to be behind all the current progress, in some respects have similar needs as have banks – both tech and banking are selling a product based on security and trust.

A trusted counterparty is as valuable to the tech firm as is a secure banking relationship in finance, Sita Mazumder said at the expert round. The initial failure of Facebook’s Libra is no accident, because it lacked the key ingredient, which is trust.

The Swiss financial market has both – solid financial-services firms and a growing cluster of high-security storage facilities and cyber-protection expertise.

If these strengths are combined with aplomb, Swiss banking could turn itself into a fortress for financial data.

2. Learning From China

A fortress that could offer protection from spying by countries including China. At the same time, the industry would do well to learn from China’s tech industry. Adrian Honegger, a nuclear scientist and strategist at Swiss insurer Baloise, referred to the corporate structures of Alibaba and its competitors.

They tend to group the services around a platform core. The services added to this core include payment apps like Alipay which then provides access to hundreds of growth markets.

The Swiss financial industry ought to turn itself into this layer of services much like in the Chinese example, said Honegger. If you control the interface between platform and market, you become indispensable to other market participants.

3. Moving the Banker Into the Focus

A baker is baking, a programmer is programming, an engineer is designing – and they all are proud of their business. When I ask colleagues at the bank about the meaning of their job, they have to think long and hard, said Andri Silberschmidt, ex-banker and politician at the talk in Bern.

A troubling thought, because the industry risks losing the biggest talents. Knowing what your business is all about is key for a banker though, because nobody is better placed to own and represent the interface to the client.

The human being has to take center stage in banking and relationship managers ought to get access to the best tech tools available. It would help them serve their clients in the best possible way.

Human Beings as Mere Cost Factors

The trend however is pointing in the opposite direction as was again apparent when Credit Suisse made its presentation yesterday. Switzerland's second-largest bank will cut as many as 500 jobs in Switzerland, and other banks will probably follow its lead soon.

The human being is a mere cost factor in this strategic choice of banks. It will make it all the more difficult to stop Swiss banking from turning into a shadow of its former self.