Zurich is still going strong, but for how much longer?
One in ten jobs in the Zurich region is linked to the financial sector. Around 16 per cent of total regional value added comes from banks, insurance companies and banking-related service providers. A new study puts the figures on the table and at the same time the Zurich Banking Association makes a clear demand. Without better framework conditions, none of this is set in stone.
The Zurich financial centre employs over 102,000 full-time positions at the end of 2024, 44,000 of which are in the banks alone. With a gross value added of CHF 32.8 billion, the sector generates more than one sixth of Zurich’s total economic output. The banks also cover around 30 per cent of the financing requirements of companies and households throughout Switzerland. These are not just abstract figures, they are the economic basis of an entire metropolitan region.
Half the city’s coffers from one sector
The study conducted by management consultants Oliver Wyman on behalf of the Zurich Banking Association makes one figure particularly clear. Around half of corporate taxes in the city of Zurich come from banks and insurance companies. With 10 per cent of jobs, they generate 16 per cent of value added, which is far above average productivity. Zürcher Kantonalbank also distributed a record amount to the canton and municipalities for 2025.
Fewer banks, more jobs
The number of banks operating in the Zurich region has fallen from 94 to 78 since 2015. Despite this, employment has risen steadily, with above-average growth since 2017. Bank-related service providers such as fintechs, asset managers and consulting firms have created jobs where traditional institutional structures have been dismantled. The sector is consolidating, but not shrinking.
Regulation as a sticking point
CBA Managing Director Christian Bretscher poses the crucial question. What happens if the framework conditions gradually deteriorate? He calls the planned increased capital requirements for UBS “incomprehensible”. The association is calling for targeted banking regulation with a sense of proportion, not blanket tightening that could force internationally active institutions out of Zurich. Swiss banks already contribute 5 per cent to national GDP and directly employ around 158,000 people.
What is at stake
The Zurich financial centre is in direct competition with London, Singapore and Frankfurt. Special regulatory burdens or tax deteriorations affect not only the banks, but the entire city economy. Anyone who draws 50 per cent of corporate taxes from a single sector has an interest in ensuring that this sector remains, grows and invests. This is not a lobby statement, this is arithmetic.