Chris Künzle: «This is the New Benchmark for Swiss Private Banks»

A newly released study assessing the performance of Switzerland’s private banks is making waves both domestically and internationally – above all because it crowns US banking giant Goldman Sachs as the top Swiss private bank. The study’s lead author and finance professor, Chris Künzle, explains how this surprising result came about in an interview with finews.tv.

In little time, Christoph «Chris» Künzle’s Wealth Management Study has become a reference in Switzerland’s private banking landscape. The 173-page compendium, published for the fourth time last November, dissects the financial statements of all wealth management banks operating in Switzerland – a first of its kind, as the Zurich finance professor explains in an interview with finews.tv.

It is therefore no surprise that the study is now drawing strong interest even in financial centers such as London, Milan, and Singapore. Based on its extensive dataset, the report allows for clear, data-driven conclusions about the state of Swiss private banks, Künzle notes.

In particular, the figures contradict the almost mantra-like praise voiced by banking lobbyists regarding the global importance of Switzerland as a financial centre – an assessment that no longer holds true. Today’s leading financial hubs are located outside Europe.

Highly Scalable

That is where new wealth is being created, while growth has largely stalled in Switzerland, Künzle explains. At the same time, costs relative to revenues (cost/income ratio, CIR) remain persistently high. This erodes the profitability of those private banks that are likely to disappear from the market in the next wave of consolidation.

Künzle also points out that his academic studies are highly scalable, making comparable analyses feasible for other financial centers – for example, in the Middle East (Dubai, Abu Dhabi) or in Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong). He has already provisioned corresponding sections on his website.

Largest Survey Among Independent Wealth Managers

Another project is poised to become a new industry benchmark: the largest survey ever conducted among independent wealth managers in Switzerland. The nationwide study is currently under way and will be unveiled in Zurich on 18 March 2026. Participation has already exceeded all expectations, Künzle says.