Switzerland Today

Dear Swiss Abroad,

Is your bank account currently blocked? Two Swiss citizens abroad with accounts at Migros Bank are reporting that they can no longer access their funds. What’s behind the issue?

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos concluded today, ending with a surprising announcement.

Meanwhile, an unpublished report suggests the danger at the ammunition depot in Mitholz might be much smaller than previously assumed by the defence ministry.

And finally, efforts to recover a Swissair DC-3 that crashed into Lake Constance in 1957 are currently on hold.

Best wishes from Bern.

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

IT security measure leads to blocked Swiss bank accounts abroad

Two Swiss citizens living abroad are furious after being unable to access their Migros Bank accounts for several days. According to the bank, the issue stems from IT security measures.

Basel native Hansjörg Madörin, who lives in Thailand, relies on his Migros Bank account – until access stopped last Friday. Neither the app nor online banking platforms are now working for him. Customer support promised help, but the problem remained. Another Swiss citizen living in the Philippines has also been unable to pay bills, as Blick reports.

Migros Bank has defended itself, stating that hacker attacks required adjustments to IT security which led to a temporary access block from “certain remote destinations”. However, many Swiss citizens abroad are frustrated by the lack of communication and solutions offered by the bank.

Frequent cyber-attacks, such as those by Russian hacker groups, require banks to continuously invest in digital protection. For customers in Switzerland, the disruption was brief, but those abroad have been hit harder. Migros Bank is advising affected customers to contact its customer service, which has promised assistance without the usual service fee.

• Read the full article in BlickExternal link (in German)

Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

WEF in Davos ends with a surprise announcement

As the World Economic Forum concluded on Friday, only a few panels and discussions remained. The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) summed up the event with the headline: “WEF 2025: Donald Trump and Javier Milei boast in Davos”.

In a virtual speech from Washington on Thursday, US President Donald Trump threatened high tariffs for companies that do not manufacture in the United States. Meanwhile, Karin Keller-Sutter, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, noted that Switzerland is under pressure due to trade relations between the EU and the US.

However, an announcement by Børge Brende, the president and CEO of WEF, surprised audiences: the World Economic Forum would be held in the Saudi capital Riyadh in the spring of 2026.

• The overview in the NZZExternal link (paywall, in German).
• The WEF live updated from 20 MinutenExternal link (in German)
• The statement by Karin Keller-Sutter on Swiss public television, SRFExternal link (in German)

Keystone / Anthony Anex

How dangerous is the former ammunition depot in Mitholz?

An unpublished report by munitions specialists has cast doubt on the previously accepted risk analyses for a billion-euro clearing project.

The village of Mitholz in the Bernese Oberland is set to be evacuated for at least ten years from 2033 due to the risk of old munitions stored in the mountain above the village potentially exploding. However, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) notes that an unpublished report mentions only “a maximum of five kilograms of explosives” that could detonate.

Residents, many of whom have built their lives in Mitholz, are grappling with fear, anger and concerns about health risks.

While munitions specialists classify the potential danger as manageable, a former evacuation expert criticised the approach, arguing that “calculations upon calculations” were made instead of practical investigations.

The shifting evacuation plans have created mistrust among residents, leaving many homes empty and dividing the community.

• The article in the NZZExternal link (paywall, in German)

ETH-Bibliothek, Bildarchiv

Swissair plane recovery on hold

Efforts to recover a Swissair DC-3 that crashed into Lake Constance in 1957 have been temporarily halted.

The aircraft crashed on June 18, 1957 during a training flight, killing all nine people on board, including pilots, trainees and engineers. The wreckage lies 210 metres underwater.

An organisation began diving to the wreckage, but after bones were found, the federal prosecutor’s office became involved. Are they human remains? Investigations are currently underway, as Swiss public television, SRF reports.

Five bodies were recovered in a major salvage operation after the crash. However, the entire debris field is around 50 to 100 metres long: chairs, an engine and parts of the wing can be seen. It is suspected that the bones could be from the remaining four victims.

• Read the Keystone news agency report on SWI swissinfo.ch (in English)  

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Picture of the day

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Markus Schreiber of the Associated Press captured a participant filming US President Donald Trump giving a virtual speech from Washington. Very meta.

Translated from German by DeepL/amva,dos