Switzerland Financial Center

1. HISTORY
In Switzerland there are three historically financial centers, which are located in Basel, Geneva and Zurich. While the Basel and Geneva mostly have remained the traditional home of private banking and asset management, Zurich is also located here along with the large private banks, is especially importance for the commercial and investment banks gained.
2.1 History of theZurich Financial Center
At the beginning of the 21st century, Zurich is numbered among the handful of leading financial centers of the world.
The first stone for Zurich's banking center was established in 1755 when the Bank Leu & Co. was established. However, the real history of the center only dates back to 1856, when a second major bank was founded: this was Schweizerische Kreditanstalt(now Credit Suisse). As industrialization accelerated, Zurich became the main center of industry in Switzerland. This increased the attractiveness of the city as a place, together with the presence of the main banks that were already established there, this attracted more banks to Zurich, including Swiss Bank (EIBA), created in Berne in 1863, which moved its headquarters to Zurich in 1892. The Bankof Winterthur (established in 1862) became Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in 1912 and then moved its headquarters to Zurich, these two banks, together with Bank Leu and Credit Suisse, composed Zurich's quartet of big banks which by 1908 accounted for 50% of the total balance-sheet of the seven largest Swiss banks.
After the Swiss Federal State was created in 1848, Zurich began to take the leadrole in the country's economy. The need to finance the construction of railway lines created a need for additional capital. In order to anticipate to foreign banks, Alfred Escher and his business partners founded Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, which in turn has participated in the establishment of Swiss Reinsurance and Zurich Insurance. Shortly after his death, Escher became one of the few statesmento be honored with a statue in front of the main rail station in Zurich.
In 1880, the construction of the splendid Bahnhofstrasse and the stock exchange – considered as a very impressive building at the time - literally laid the foundations for a financial center of prestige. Zurich's preeminent position was further consolidated in 1905 by the decision to make the city one of the main locationsof the Swiss National Bank (SNB), together with Berne.
It was now when the Zurich Financial Center really exist, comprising a powerful group of important banks, a central bank, a market of integrated capital and a range of intensive activities in capital of export.. The importance of the banks and the other financial service providers in Switzerland continued to grow during the following decades.However, it was not until after the Second World War that Zurich became one of the major international financial centers.
At the end of the 19th century, 625 banks and finance companies had established business in Switzerland, with more than 4300 mainly domestic branches. The banks were divided into several categories: Cantonal banks, major banks, regional banks and savings banks, Raiffeisenbanks, private banks and other banks. There were also 126 foreign banks. Since a large number of these establishments were concentrated in Zurich, the city's financial center continued to grow in importance as the 20th century step.
Despite of the transformation of the Swiss banking sector initiated in the 1990s (and continued until today), the importance of Zurich as a banking center was not indanger. In 2008, only 332 banks remained in Switzerland as a result of numerous acquisitions, mergers, and liquidation. These include the major banks, now reduced to two: Credit Suisse and UBS (before SBG).
2.2 History of Basel financial center
Basel is the home of the oldest international financial organization in the world: the Bank for International Settlements, BIS. The BIS was...