Zurich Cantonal Bank (, or ZKB) is the largest cantonal bank and fourth largest bank in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, 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 Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

. Ultimate supervision of ZKB is the responsibility of the

Cantonal Council of Zürich The Cantonal Council of Zürich () is the legislature of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Zürich, Zürich, in Switzerland. Zürich has a unicameral legislature. The Cantonal Council has 180 seats, with members elected every four ...

, whose duties are laid down in Zürich's Cantonal Bank Act. Under the law, the canton of Zürich 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.

History

The Zurich Cantonal Bank was founded in 1870 as "bank of the citizens of Zürich" following an initiative of Johann Jakob Keller (1823–1903), then member of the cantonal council of Zürich. The canton of Zürich 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 October 2009, '' Global Finance'' 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 co ...

, Fitch and

Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and 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 histo ...

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; ; ; ; ) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking econ ...

, alongside UBS,

Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...

, Raiffeisen (Switzerland) and PostFinance, and must meet stricter capital requirements and prepare contingency plans for times of crisis.

Network

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

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

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Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. 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: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

EUR The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 10 ...

, 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

Notes and references

External links

* {{Authority control Cantonal banks Banks established in 1870 Banks based in Zurich

History

Network

ZKB Gold ETF

See also

Notes and references

External links