Former Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse is set to be completely integrated into UBS by the end of 2024. moneyland.ch analyzed the current Credit Suisse offers and compared them to competing offers.
The results show that most of the Credit Suisse banking products for private customers are among the most expensive in their class. “The bank’s closure is regrettable in many respects. But in terms of products, the disappearance of Credit Suisse is not a major loss for private consumers,” says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
Existing Credit Suisse customers should compare banking offers and move to more favorable alternatives. For credit cards, even Credit Suisse subsidiary Swisscard has much more attractive options. For business accounts, Credit Suisse’s new owner UBS is among the more affordable banks. For other banking services like savings accounts, pillar 3a accounts, stock brokerage, and asset management, smaller banks often have the best conditions.
Private accounts
For a private account with a linked debit card, the standard offer from Credit Suisse was one of the most expensive on the market.
Example: Average customers with 10,000 francs in a Credit Suisse private account would spend 238 francs per year on account and debit card fees, and transaction costs. Customers with the exact same profile but a private account from Yuh would earn 31 francs per year (interest minus costs). That is a difference of 269 francs.
However, it is worth noting that the CSX White app-based private account from Credit Suisse is one of the cheaper accounts in the comparison, with total costs of 127.50 francs per year.
Savings accounts
In the past, the Bonviva accounts from Credit Suisse had some of the highest interest rates available in Switzerland. But these accounts have not been offered for some time now. Today, Credit Suisse sits about midway in terms of interest paid, and that applies to its savings accounts as well.
Example: Credit Suisse savings accounts for adults currently yield interest at the rate of 0.75 percent per year. The investment savings account from the Caisse d’Epargne d’Aubonne has an interest rate of 2 percent per year. For 50,000 francs of savings, the difference is 625 francs per year.
Credit cards
Credit cards from Credit Suisse are also average. The Cashback credit cards from Credit Suisse subsidiary Swisscard, on the other hand, are among the most favorable in Switzerland.
Example: For an occasional credit card user, the cost of using the Credit World Mastercard Standard from Credit Suisse is 283 francs over the first two years. With the Cashback American Express credit card from Swisscard, on the other hand, a customer with the same profile would get 19 francs back (cash back minus costs).
Pillar 3a accounts
In terms of interest paid for the balances of pillar 3a retirement savings accounts, Credit Suisse sits about mid-way. It pays 0.8 percent interest per year. By comparison, Tellco pays 1.35 percent interest per annum. At current rates, retirement savers with 100,000 francs of pillar 3a savings would get 550 francs more per year with a pillar 3a account from Tellco than they would at Credit Suisse.
Pillar 3a retirement funds
Some Credit Suisse retirement funds sit about midway in terms of costs, while others are among the most expensive in Switzerland.
Example: Retirement savers with 100,000 francs of pillar 3a assets pay between 790 and 1470 francs in fees to invest through the CS Mixta fund. Those costs reduce the returns. Investing the same amount with the Basellandschaftlichen Kantonalbank costs just 350 francs per year. That is 1120 francs per year less than the most expensive Credit Suisse retirement fund.
Mortgages
Advertised mortgage interest rates from Credit Suisse come in last in the moneyland.ch mortgage comparison, meaning they are the most expensive. However, mortgage interest rates are negotiable at most banks. It is also possible for the actual interest rate you get to be lower than the advertised rate. However, it is not likely that many customers will be getting mortgages with Credit Suisse at this point in time.
Example: The advertised annual interest rate for a five-year mortgage is 3.09 percent at Credit Suisse, and 2.27 percent at Crédit Agricole Next Bank (as of September 18, 2023). For an 800,000-franc mortgage, the difference in costs is 6540 francs per year.
Stock brokerage
Credit Suisse’s online trading service has been among the most expensive in Switzerland for many years now. Investors who want to trade stocks and other securities using the Credit Suisse platform must be ready to reach deep into their pockets.
Example: The online trading comparison on moneyland.ch shows that an occasional trader would spend 1632 francs on fees with the Credit Suisse Direct-Net service. The same investor would spend just 258 francs in fees if they used Flowbank. So Credit Suisse customers have to pay 1374 francs more per year.
Asset management
In terms of costs, the asset management services from Credit Suisse are either average or expensive, depending on the mandate and profile. While some mandates are cheaper than others, they are still among the most expensive asset management offers from Swiss retail banks.
Example: Credit Suisse asset management clients who place 500,000 francs in a stock portfolio have to spend 9750 francs per year in costs for the All Instruments mandate, 7750 francs for the funds mandate, and 6750 francs for the index mandate. By contrast, the online asset management service Selma has annual costs of 2350 for an identical client. That is between 4400 and 7400 francs cheaper than Credit Suisse.
Business account
For business accounts too, Credit Suisse is one of the most expensive Swiss retail banks.
Example: For business customers with a capital payment of 100,000 francs and average financial transactions, the cost of using the Business Easy Package is 733 francs in the first year. The UBS current account for businesses costs just 260 francs for the same profile.
What can Credit Suisse customers expect?
UBS informed moneyland.ch that the main Credit Suisse offers will remain mostly unchanged until the end of 2024. UBS is not clear on what will happen to customers with existing bank accounts and other banking products from Credit Suisse. One possibility is that Credit Suisse customers who do not want to migrate to UBS products may be able to keep their existing products, but with different branding.
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