The closures will affect 44 of the bank’s 239 branches in the country, mainly smaller ones, UBS confirmed on Tuesday. The bank plans to continue beefing up its online offers.
The announcement, which had been rumoured for a few months already, was confirmedExternal link by UBS Switzerland director Axel Lehmann to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday.
Lehmann said the decision was due to the changing needs of clients. In the past year, over-the-counter transactions in UBS branches fell by 10%, and two-thirds of clients now deal with the bank mostly digitally, he said.
It’s like “small village grocery shops, which it’s not possible to keep running when clients shop online or go to big supermarkets”, Lehmann said.
More
More
Pandemic speeds up push to digital as bank branches close
This content was published on
Banks are ramping up their digital offerings to customers as they close down high street branches.
The coronavirus pandemic was not the direct cause of the decision, but it “accelerated the trend towards digitalisation”, he added.
UBS once had some 300 branches across the country. It already shut down 28 of them last year.
The UBS closures will happen in the next few months, and will affect around 150 staff, although no layoffs are currently planned, Lehmann confirmed.
Switzerland’s second largest bank Crédit Suisse announced last year it would cut 39 of its 146 branches, as part of plans to save CHF100 million ($112 million) annually.
Popular Stories
More
Workplace Switzerland
What lies ahead for Switzerland: an economic outlook for 2025
Have you heard something about Swiss diplomacy that you’d like us to fact check?
Not all information circulating about Switzerland’s foreign relations is accurate or well understood. Tell us what you'd like us to fact check or clarify.
Swiss insurer Helvetia says 500 jobs affected by cost-cutting
This content was published on
Some 500 jobs, including 200 to 250 in Switzerland, are affected by the new operational efficiency measures recently announced by insurer Helvetia.
This content was published on
Significantly fewer new cars were sold in Switzerland in 2024 than the previous year as demand for electric cars and plug-in hybrids declined.
Three Swiss brands among world’s 100 most valuable firms
This content was published on
Three Swiss firms made it into the 2024 top 100 most valuable companies in the world, despite Roche, Nestlé and Novartis falling down the rankings.
This content was published on
Swiss singer Bernie Constantin, who made a name for himself with the 1980s songs 'Switzerland Reggae' and 'Lola Berlingo' has died aged 77.
Jungfrau Railways takes over a million guests to the Jungfraujoch
This content was published on
In 2024, the Jungfrau Railway Group transported more than a million passengers to the Jungfraujoch for the second year in a row.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Credit Suisse-owned bank brand disappears in savings drive
This content was published on
Switzerland’s second-largest bank will ditch its subsidiary, Neue Aargauer Bank (NAB), as part of plans to save CHF100 million ($110 million) in annual costs. Credit Suisse group plans to reduce its number of branches from 146 to 109 and prioritise its digital services.
This content was published on
This is because more and more customers are doing their banking online, the bank’s new CEO Patrik Gisel said in Zurich on Friday. No job losses were foreseen, a spokesman told the Swiss News Agency, adding that it would be small branches that would be closed and that mergers of local Raiffeisen banks was a…
This content was published on
New digital banks are popping up in Switzerland without a single branch or counter. One of them is staking its success on doing more with less.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.