«Our Swiss banking clients are already talking about what work will look like after the pandemic is over,» Deloitte's Dulac notes. Specifically, firms are looking at who does what work – and from where. «Not all institutes are coming through the crisis equally well and will have to think about spending measures,» he adds.

 This raises questions further out – how much staff will banks need in ten years, and where should they be based? «The trends like outsourcing certain work to third-parties and offshoring to other market regions will become more pronounced.» Outsourcing work is an appealing short-term cost measure, he says: it lowers spending for back-office, transaction, and administration work.

By contrast, banks look for talent abroad in offshoring in order to expand the number of staff at far lower cost than Switzerland. «Information technology is the a typical area for this,» Tulac says. But client interactions – even in private banking – are becoming more digital and less physical.

Subject To Currents

The arc of offshoring, then nearshoring, and outsourcing then later insourcing illustrates a lack of continuity in planning: short-term savings cannot be the focus of such measures, according to the experts. «These types of activities need to be part of a wider strategy and operating model for banks,» Deloitte's Dulac says. «Firms need to carefully consider the effect on employees, on taxes, risks, and compliance.»

This may also mean running fully counter to the prevailing trend. «Some foreign firms are moving to bundle their teams in Switzerland, due to the stability and security of the country as well as for tax advantages,» Page's Surber says.