Following the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, here is some useful information from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on the financial services sector in Switzerland. Find out below about median wages, the contribution of financial corporations to GDP and jobs in this industry.
In 2020, the gross median wage in financial services (banks) was CHF 10 317 per month, for a full-time position. In comparison, the Swiss gross median wage in the private sector in the same year was CHF 6 361 per month, also for a full-time position. In the banking sector, the gross median wage of employees with no managerial function was CHF 7 142 per month, compared with a gross monthly salary of CHF 15 571 for chief executives.
On average, 79.3% of people working in banks received a bonus in 2020. Middle management had the highest bonus rate with 88.4%. Of those who received a bonus, 59.5% were men.
In Switzerland, the financial sector's share in value added (GDP at current prices) is around 10%. In 2020, the banks alone contributed around 3.8% of GDP at current prices, and the big banks 1.2%. When looking at overall value added created by all banks operating in Switzerland, the share of the big banks has been on a downward trend since 1995.
In Switzerland, entities that are active in the area of financial services (except insurance and pension funding) accounted for 120 000 jobs. Banks account for around 103 000 of these jobs. The big banks alone employ some 25 600 persons, i.e. almost 21% of all jobs in the sector. This is followed by the cantonal banks (17%) and Stock Exchange banks (12%).
Source: Data from the Structural business statistics, 2020 (available in French or German) here below.
