oldest swiss banks
Loans & Mortgages

Which is the Oldest Swiss Bank?

February 14, 2023 - Benjamin Manz

Find a list of the oldest Swiss banks, organized by their dates of founding.

Switzerland is a banking capital. From private banks to cantonal banks, the country hosts countless financial services providers. Many of these financial firms have been in operation for centuries. The oldest Swiss banks are listed in table 1.

Table 1: Oldest Swiss banks by year of founding

Year of founding Name of bank Kind of bank
1750 Rahn and Bodmer Private bank
1796 Lombard Odier & Cie Private bank
1805 Pictet & Cie (originally De Candolle, Turrettini & Cie) Private bank
1812 Sparkasse Schwyz Regional bank
1813 Dreyfus Sons & Co Private bank
1814 Caisse d'Epargne Riviera Regional bank
1815 Bank Bonhôte & Cie Private bank
1816 Clientis Sparcassa 1816 (originally Ersparungs-Cassa Wädenschwil) Regional bank
1817 Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen Regional bank
1819 Ersparniskasse Speicher Regional bank
1819 Mirabaud & Cie Private bank
1819 Regiobank Solothurn (originally Ersparniskasse der Stadt Solothurn) Regional bank
1820 Bank Zimmerberg (originally Ersparnis Kasse für die Gemeinde Horgen) Regional bank
1820 Burgerliche Ersparniskasse Bern Regional bank
1821 Bank EEK Regional bank

 

 

The five biggest Swiss banks, on the other hand, are relatively young compared to the oldest Swiss financial firms. The years in which the largest Swiss banks were established are shown in table 2.

 Table 2: Biggest Swiss banks by year of founding

Year of founding Name of bank Kind of bank
1856 Credit Suisse Private bank
1862 UBS Private bank
1870 Zürcher Kantonalbank Cantonal bank
1899 Raiffeisen Schweiz Bank cooperative
1906 Postfinance Federal bank

 

More on this topic:
Compare Swiss bank accounts now
Compare Swiss mortgage offers now
Compare Swiss personal loans now
Compare Swiss asset management services now
Compare Swiss stock brokerage accounts now

Expert Benjamin Manz
Benjamin Manz is CEO of moneyland.ch and an independent expert on banking and finance.
Request now for free

Cheap bank accounts with card

Online private account

UBS key4

  • 50 KeyClub points as a welcome gift

  • Online private account with debit card

Swiss digital bank

Radicant

  • High interest on your everyday account

  • Best exchange rates

  • Up to 1% of card spending as saveback in the investment portfolio

Swiss Bank

Bank WIR Bankpaket Top

  • Free account & card

  • No exchange fees for foreign payments (interbank exchange rates)

  • 24 ATM withdrawals worldwide per year free of charge

Swiss digital bank

Alpian

  • CHF 100 welcome bonus

  • Favorable foreign exchange rates

  • Multi-currency account with Visa card (CHF, EUR, USD, GBP) 

Free bank account

Yuh

  • No account fees

  • Banking partner: Swissquote & Postfinance

  • CHF 20 trading credit with code «YUHMONEYLAND»

Request now for free

Cheap bank accounts with card

Online private account

UBS key4

  • 50 KeyClub points as a welcome gift

  • Online private account with debit card

Swiss digital bank

Radicant

  • High interest on your everyday account

  • Best exchange rates

  • Up to 1% of card spending as saveback in the investment portfolio

Swiss Bank

Bank WIR Bankpaket Top

  • Free account & card

  • No exchange fees for foreign payments (interbank exchange rates)

  • 24 ATM withdrawals worldwide per year free of charge

Swiss digital bank

Alpian

  • CHF 100 welcome bonus

  • Favorable foreign exchange rates

  • Multi-currency account with Visa card (CHF, EUR, USD, GBP) 

Free bank account

Yuh

  • No account fees

  • Banking partner: Swissquote & Postfinance

  • CHF 20 trading credit with code «YUHMONEYLAND»

Deal of the Day
×
Online private account

UBS key4

50 KeyClub points as a welcome gift

Trading platforms

Brokers with low fees

Swiss Trading Platform

Cornèrtrader Special Offer

  • Special offer: particularly favorable conditions for Moneyland users

  • No custody account fees for shares

  • Swiss online bank with FINMA license

Swiss Broker

Saxo Bank Special Offer

  • Special offer: Reimbursement of brokerage fees up to CHF 200 for 90 days

  • Licensed Swiss bank (FINMA)

  • Free expert research and trading signals

Request now for free

Leading credit cards

Free credit card

Swisscard Cashback Cards Amex

  • No annual fees

  • Two cards Amex & Visa/Mastercard

  • With cash back

Free credit card

Migros Cumulus Visa

  • No annual fees

  • With Cumulus points

  • Without foreign currency fees

Swiss bank packages comparison

Find the best bank offer now

Compare now
Free subscription

Sign up for the free newsletter

Subscribe now
more than 3 million pieces of data

Find all comparisons here

Go to comparisons