Ms. Schnydrig, with over CHF 90 billion in assets under management, ZKB now ranks among Switzerland’s ten largest private banks. Since when?

As a rule, we don’t regularly publish figures on the growth of individual business units. This year, for the first time, we disclosed a number — and we are now at over CHF 90 billion. When I started nearly five years ago, it was around CHF 55 billion. So you can see the magnitude today is quite different.

That’s a substantial increase. It can hardly be explained by markets alone — so you’ve gained market share.

You could certainly say so. Traditionally, ZKB has been perceived primarily as a retail and corporate bank. Private banking existed before — my predecessor also ran a private-banking boutique — but we weren’t perceived as strongly in the market. Over the past four to five years, we’ve therefore put a great deal of emphasis on external positioning — through marketing, appearances, and media visibility. Word of mouth is also increasingly powerful: the more clients we have, the more they talk to others about their experience.

How much of the growth is attributable to Credit Suisse’s collapse?

We certainly felt the uncertainty in the market. In such phases, cantonal banks traditionally gain trust. But the outflows from Credit Suisse were distributed across many institutions.

«That we grew faster than the market also had to do with our clear positioning.»

Despite consolidation in recent years, there are still around 80 providers in Swiss private banking — competition is intense. That we grew faster than the market was not only due to the environment, but also to our clear positioning.

Has the discussion about a possible relocation of UBS’s headquarters abroad helped you?

I haven’t noticed that so far.

What defines your strategic signature over the past five years?

The first step for me was to refocus the Private Banking unit. As part of that, we centralized our relationship-management teams — previously working out of 15 regional locations — at headquarters on Bahnhofstrasse. There, the relevant private-banking expertise is much more directly available: wealth-planning specialists, credit expertise, real-estate expertise. This centralization does not mean clients can no longer meet advisors in branches; that remains possible at all locations. But in the upper segment, it made sense to bundle forces and bring strengths together.

And where is the line today?

We had set a threshold that previously stood at 3 million francs and that we will now raise to 5 million francs. Above that threshold, advisors work from headquarters — while of course traveling to clients across Switzerland. Many clients, however, still prefer to meet at our headquarters. Employees who serve clients with 1–5 million francs do so from six locations across the canton of Zurich in addition to headquarters — with the same travel principle applying to them as well.

The segment around CHF 1 million is often seen as «between a rock and a hard place»: too large for retail, but not attractive enough for classic private banking. What’s your view?

I would clearly disagree. This segment is very important — for the bank and for clients themselves. Many Swiss are in this wealth bracket. And here, too, making the right financial decisions is crucial. Many of these clients own a home or have loans and benefit from our wealth-planning capabilities such as financial planning and tax or inheritance advice.

«Across all segments, we want to remain a close, down-to-earth bank.»

With this comprehensive service offering, we accompany clients through all of life’s events. In addition, most clients in this segment don’t have a family office or professional accompaniment. That differentiates them from ultra-high-net-worth clients. This is where ZKB can generate significant added value when we bring the right experts to the table. From 1 million francs in freely investable assets, you belong to our private-banking clientele. Across all segments, we want to remain a close, down-to-earth bank, appear modest, and deliver the best possible advisory experience.

That was the first step. What came next?

The second step was to create homogeneity across the canton’s market areas — in other words, better standardization across regions. We newly defined branch groups and created a clear division of roles: who is responsible for the branch hall, who for support units, who for sales. That’s how we changed structures and standardized processes. This laid the groundwork to reduce the market areas to three from mid-November. A third important step was the 2023 merger of International Private Banking with the external asset manager (EAM) business. The latter also partly involves cross-border activity. By combining the two areas, we became more efficient and improved risk management. That was a decisive step for me.

You integrated the EAM business into international private banking. What other accents did you set?

A key move was our authorization in Germany. Since early 2023 we’ve been active there with BaFin approval. That opened many new doors: we can run marketing campaigns, host investment events, and invite clients and prospects directly on site. Germany is a very important market for us — and the one with the greatest growth potential.

Read on to learn how ZKB’s private banking is expanding abroad — and why the Zurich market is so fiercely contested.