Banks Fret Over Prospects
4. More Regulation
More than two-thirds of banks believe that the sector will be more regulated than in the past. That means banks have turned downbeat: last year, 63 percent said they expected stricter oversight.
Eighty-two percent – including every cantonal bank in Switzerland – said it expects to budget more money for risk controls and compliance in the foreseeable future.
5. New Crisis?
Whether the next financial crisis will be years or decades in coming is anybody's guess. Swiss banks are even less consistent when asked about their opinion for a renewed broad collapse in financial markets.
Thirty-three percent believe that the biggest risk is expansive monetary policy as well as unresolved deficit problems, followed by geopolitical craziness at 27 percent and a cooling of the housing bubble (11 percent). Scenarios such as cyber attacks, the collapse of financial market infrastructure, or a stock market crash are less feared.
