The cantonal banks (''

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: Kantonalbank,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: banque cantonale, Italian: banca cantonale)'' are 24

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

government-owned commercial banks. Most of them were founded between 1834 and 1916, although the Banque cantonale du Jura was founded in 1979 – due to the separation of Jura from the Canton of Berne, which occurred in 1978. 21 are provided by the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

in which they are based with a guarantee for the assets held there.

Description

Traditionally, cantonal banks are especially strong in savings and mortgage products. Currently they are in the process of being partially privatised. The cantonal banks are organised and regulated by the

Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks The Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks (german: Verband Schweizerischer Kantonalbanken, french: Union des Banques Cantonales Suisses, it, Unione delle Banche Cantonali Svizzere) is an association of the 24 cantonal banks in Switzerland. Its purp ...

, with its office in Basel. As a group, the cantonal banks account for about 30% of the banking sector in Switzerland, with a network of over 800 branches and 16 000 employees in Switzerland. In 2014 consolidated total assets of all cantonal banks accounted around 500 bln CHF, which is comparable with those of the "Big Banks":

UBS UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

and

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, it maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world and is one of the nine global " ...

.Cantonal Banks
/ref> Cantonal Banks offer 100% deposit insurance to their clients, whereas Swiss-domiciled Banks are insured the maximum of 100,000 CHF via the esisuisse deposit insurance scheme.Kraus, Daniel, et al. ''Blockchains, Smart Contracts, Decentralised Autonomous Organisations and the Law''. Cheltenham, Uk ; Northampton, Ma, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019, p. 206. There are 24 cantonal banks, one in each canton of the country, except for the cantons of

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Ausserrhoden (; in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes) (german: Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden; rm, Chantun Appenzell Dadora; french: Canton d'Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; it, Canton Appenzello Esterno) is one of the 26 canton ...

, which sold its bank to banking rival

, and Solothurn, which privatised its bank in 1995 after a scandal. Each bank uses a distinctive motif as the logo, with a cantonal colour on white used as the colours of the bank, e.g. light blue for

Zürcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonal Bank (german: Zürcher Kantonalbank, or ZKB) is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in Switzerland, as well as the leading financial services provider in the Greater Zurich area, with total assets of over CHF 150 bil ...

(Zurich Cantonal Bank). Despite appearances, cantonal banks are not small private banks: in fact two of them, the

and the

Banque cantonale vaudoise Banque Cantonale Vaudoise (BCV) is the cantonal bank of the Swiss Canton of Vaud. Headquartered in Lausanne, it is Vaud's biggest bank by balance sheet. BCV is a universal bank providing retail banking, corporate banking, wealth management, and ...

, are the third and fourth biggest banks in Switzerland (after

and

List of cantonal banks

Notes and references

External links

Website of the Association of Swiss Cantonal Banks, which has information on all the cantonal banks.
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