Zurich Cantonal Bank (german: Zürcher Kantonalbank, or ZKB) is the largest

cantonal bank The cantonal banks (''German: Kantonalbank, French: banque cantonale, Italian: banca cantonale)'' are 24 Swiss government-owned commercial banks. Most of them were founded between 1834 and 1916, although the Banque cantonale du Jura was founded ...

and fourth largest bank in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, as well as the leading financial services provider in the

Greater Zurich Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

area, with total assets of over CHF 150 billion.Bank Profile: Zürcher Kantonalbank
/ref> ZKB, as an independent, incorporated public-law institution, is wholly owned by the

Canton of Zurich 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 ...

. Ultimate supervision of ZKB is the responsibility of the Cantonal Council of Zurich, whose duties are laid down in Zurich's Cantonal Bank Act. Under the law, the canton of Zurich bears responsibility for all ZKB's liabilities should the bank's resources prove inadequate. This cantonal guarantee acts as a stabilising force for the financial market as a whole, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. In October 2009, ''

Global Finance The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade finan ...

'' magazine rated ZKB at one of the five safest banks in the world, on the basis of it being one of only five financial institutions that enjoyed a triple

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...

, Fitch and

Moody's Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...

AAA/Aaa rating globally. In November 2013, Zürcher Kantonalbank was classified as a systemically important bank in Switzerland by order of the

Swiss National Bank The Swiss National Bank (SNB; german: Schweizerische Nationalbank; french: Banque nationale suisse; it, Banca nazionale svizzera; rm, Banca naziunala svizra) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy an ...

, alongside

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 ...

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 " ...

Raiffeisen (Switzerland) Raiffeisen Switzerland is a cooperative of cooperatives – the union of all independent Swiss Raiffeisen banks. It bears responsibility for the business policy and strategy within the Raiffeisen Group. The 246 independent Raiffeisen banks of Sw ...

and

PostFinance PostFinance is the financial services unit of Swiss Post which was founded in 1906. It is the fifth largest retail financial institution in Switzerland. Its main area of activity is in the national and international payments and a smaller but gro ...

, and must meet stricter capital requirements and prepare contingency plans for times of crisis.

History

The Zurich Cantonal Bank was founded in 1870 as "bank of the citizens of Zurich" following an initiative of Johann Jakob Keller (1823–1903), then member of the cantonal council of Zurich. The canton of Zurich provided the necessary endowment capital and appointed the senior governing bodies. The public service mandate and the corresponding social and political responsibility were established by law. In 2023, the bank hired Ralph Zaluori as the head of Funding department, Zaluori previously worked for Swiss banking giants Credit Suisse.

Network

With 103 outlets, ZKB is the largest network of branches in the canton of Zurich. ZKB also maintains a network of international representatives and regional advisory offices in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and

Sao Paulo SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

. ZKB also has a branch in Austria (Salzburg).

ZKB Gold ETF

On 15 March 2006, Zurich Cantonal Bank launched the ZKB Gold ETF, which is listed in

under the symbol ZGLD. The fund invests exclusively in physical gold. The ETF has three unit classes traded in different currencies:

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

EUR The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . Th ...

, and CHF. Shares are sold in 1 ounce gold units, with a minimum purchase of one unit (one ounce). Units are normally bought and sold for cash. For payment in kind, only integral 12.5 kg ingots are assured (subject to the total holding). The NAV is based on closing prices on the New York exchange according to Bloomberg Golds Comdty HP.ZKB Gold ETF Simplified sales prospectus
see page 3 for bar description

External links

Website of Zurich Cantonal Bank

Zurich Cantonal Bank Austria

Notes and references

{{Authority control Cantonal banks Banks established in 1870 Banks based in Zürich

History

Network

ZKB Gold ETF

See also

External links

Notes and references