Celent roundtable in Zurich: Swiss banking plus a dash of fintech

Swiss banking may be at a crossroads, but the Celent Swiss Banking 2025 roundtable in Zurich revealed decided optimism among participants. The 15 attendees ranged from senior representatives of global and Swiss banks to the heads of advisory firms and leaders of the Swiss and German stock exchanges. A consensus view was that the increased use of digital technology will help Swiss banking reconcile traditional values of stability and discretion with the need for transparency and scale. While the industry faces ongoing regulatory and compliance demands as well as overcapacity issues, automation offers a way to counteract the inevitable compression of fee structures. Several robo advisory vehicles are already up and running in Switzerland, with even the most traditional firms seeking to rationalize their service models. The private, invitation-only event was part of a series of targeted roundtables offered by Celent's Securities & Investments Practice, such as a session delivered last year in London. The success of the inaugural Zurich event speaks to future sessions in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe designed to provide thought leadership and engage senior level audiences around key issues. "Events like these offer a forum for thought leadership that seldom can be replicated elsewhere," said Research Director Brad Bailey, who led a lively discussion around liquidity in capital markets.