DOCSLIB.ORG

Benchmarking Mobile Banking in Switzerland Today

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Benchmarking Mobile Banking in Switzerland Today BENCHMARKING MOBILE BANKING IN SWITZERLAND TODAY CAPCO DIGITAL SWITZERLAND TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................. 01 Key Findings ................................................................................................................................................................................. 02 Mobile Banking Is Reaching a New Threshold ................................................................................................................................. 03 Is Omnichannel Dead? .................................................................................................................................................................. 05 It’s Not Just Apps – It’s the Products and Pricing ............................................................................................................................. 06 Capco 2020 Mobile Banking Benchmark ........................................................................................................................................ 08 Digital Pricing Strategy .................................................................................................................................................................. 12 Concluding Thoughts ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15 INTRODUCTION Technological innovation is taking place across all industries and financial services is no different. In this cut-throat consumer-focused age, convenience is a key differentiator and smartphones are providing the solution to many of life’s tasks for this very reason. Increasingly, people want the choice of being able to use their mobile to bank. We’re now in an era where days can pass without cash passing through our hands and face to face interactions are optional. Across some parts of Europe, physical banking branches are closing or consolidating their services in favor of more digitally efficient (and sometimes cheaper) alternatives. However, reports show that Switzerland’s consumers have been slow to adapt to a digital mobile-first mindset in banking. But will this always be the case? We wanted to shed light on the rise of mobile banking apps available to the Switzerland banking segment today and how industry players are using mobile to go-to market and above all, how they are delivering. ABOUT OUR STUDY In 2020, Capco Switzerland conducted a review of 16 banks’ mobile apps. The banks we reviewed included: • Five Swiss banks (two of which are global and three that are tier-one category) • Three European tier-one banks • Three UK tier-one banks • Five challenger banks: Monzo, N26, Revolut, Starling Bank and Zak. Capco measured the mobile apps’ functionality and usability against 30+ app features across seven categories: payments, assets, cards, personal finance management, notifications, customer support and usability. These mobile banking features ranged from the more commonly seen mobile banking features, such as balance display and transaction history, to more niche offerings, such as appointment booking and budgeting. The banks were then grouped into three categories, Swiss banks, European banks and challengers; and rated. Capco gave each of the three types of bank a percentage of fulfilled potential in offering the full spectrum of the suggested best practice functionalities. BENCHMARKING MOBILE BANKING IN SWITZERLAND TODAY /01 KEY FINDINGS In evaluating the most common mobile banking apps available to the Swiss market, we have made the following key observations: • While the user experience for their banking apps may be lacking, Swiss banks are outshining other European banks for payment functionality and coverage of PFM and notification features. • Allowing customers to manage their cards is the most neglected app feature for Swiss and European incumbent banks today. • Challengers came out top in terms of usability, however, they tend to fall behind traditional banks when it comes to feature sets beyond best practice features. • Incumbent banks need to transform their product / service offering portfolio and pricing model to keep challengers at bay. • When it comes to product offering, the ‘less is more’ approach could be key for Swiss banks. • Today’s retail banks offerings tend to fall into one of the following four distinct models, 1) a mix and match offering, 2) stacked bundles, 3) loyalty banking and 4) consumption-based banking. We observe that the most common offering types, mix and match and stacked bundles, are failing to capture customer’s needs. • Banks need to put in place a digital pricing strategy founded on the following four pillars: 1. A strong focus on meeting customers’ evolving needs, interests and loyalty 2. Customers must be able to primarily interact with products and services via digital channels 3. Products should be made available immediately as part of a seamless onboarding process 4. Products should be able to be consumed independently and flexibly (e.g. location and time). BENCHMARKING MOBILE BANKING IN SWITZERLAND TODAY /02 MOBILE BANKING IS REACHING A NEW THRESHOLD When did you last use your mobile banking app? For most people heading in Switzerland, and how are traditional Swiss banks in Switzerland, the answer to this question is never. More than positioning themselves? half1 of digital banking customers in Switzerland don’t use the mobile app of their traditional brick and mortar bank, and of the Marc Andreessen, the founder of Netscape and partner at ones that do, few use the app regularly. Andreessen-Horowitz (a16z) famously coined the phrase, ‘Software is eating the world2.’ This axiom has been extended Despite this trend, neobanks are gaining traction in Switzerland, recently by another a16z partner, Benedict Evans, that ‘Mobile is with Revolut recently reporting more than 250,000 customers.1 eating the world3.’ Indeed, mobile internet usage is growing, and This is no small feat in Switzerland - given its population of eight has, as of 2018, started to eclipse desktop usage of the internet. million, and it puts the British challenger bank in the same league In the United States, almost two-thirds of all internet usage now as many regional banks in Switzerland, in terms of raw customer happens either in mobile apps or through a mobile browser, up base. Considering all these factors, where is mobile banking from about 50 percent4 just over four years ago. MOBILE IS EATING THE WORLD Billion Minutes Online - United States 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 2015 2016 2017 2018 Desktop Mobile Apps Mobile Browser 1. https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/revolut-hat-plotzlich-massiv-mehr-kunden-der-schweiz 2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460 3. https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2016/12/8/mobile-is-eating-the-world 4. https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2018/Global-Digital-Future-in-Focus-2018 BENCHMARKING MOBILE BANKING IN SWITZERLAND TODAY /03 Today, access to the internet and smartphones are synonymous beginning of this decade, the main channel for gaining internet with one another. Almost all new internet users globally first access was through desktop, with more than 90 percent of get access to the internet through a smartphone. For adults traffic coming from accessing the internet through a regular web worldwide, internet access means smartphone access.5 At the browser on a desktop platform.6 INTERNET ADOPTION IS NOW SYNONYMOUS WITH SMARTPHONE ADOPTION Adults with Internet & Smartphone Access - Worldwide 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 Internet Smartphones As a result of the proliferation of mobile platforms, the trend than 80 percent of internet users also use mobile payments. toward mobile banking services has made its mark on financial This development is reaching, with some lag, Europe and North services as well. Providing a mobile app has become a staple America too. More than 30 percent7 of internet users use mobile for a bank’s channel offerings. Within the payments space, a payment solutions. The contrast becomes much starker in stunning trend has emerged in Asia. In China, for example, more transaction volumes. 5. https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2018/Global-Digital-Future-in-Focus-2018 6. https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/worldwide/#monthly-201001-201012 7. https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2016/12/8/mobile-is-eating-the-world BENCHMARKING MOBILE BANKING IN SWITZERLAND TODAY /04 MOBILE-FIRST ADOPTION INDICATES SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN BEHAVIOUR & TRANSACTION VOLUMES Mobile Payment Penetration, 2018 Mobile Payment Value, 2018 (USD trillion) 90% 14 80% 12 70% 10 60% 50% 8 40% 6 30% 4 20% 2 10% 0% 0 USA China USA China USA China Chinese users transacted more than $14 trillion in 2018, dwarfing things like cars, rent and utility bills. This data showcases the the roughly $100 million8 of transaction volume in the United increase in the relevance of mobile platforms as a channel and States over the same period. The key driver in this disparity is ongoing growth as a delivery medium for financial services. We the fact that Chinese consumers can pay for almost anything are reaching an inflection point where
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Strategy of Swiss Banking Sector Towards Digitalization Trends
    UDC: 336.7/005.91:005.21]:004(494) STRATEGY OF SWISS BANKING SECTOR TOWARDS DIGITALIZATION TRENDS Sead Jatic1, Milena Ilic2, Lidija Miletic3, Aca Markovic4 1Finance-Doc Multimanagement AG, Zürich, Switzerland 2Information Technology School - ITS, Belgrade, Serbia 3Information Technology School - ITS, Belgrade, Serbia 4Faculty of business studies and law, University “Union - Nikola Tesla”, Belgrade, Serbia, [email protected] Abstract: Many fields of management in contemporary banking organizations have flourished due to advancement in engineering and technology particularly, in the IT sector. Innovations which lead to digitalization assisted banks in improving business processes, ensuring competitive advantage, achiev- ing better business results and, finally, gaining higher profits. The process of digitalization in banking requires a simple approach in order to make use of banking services by means of modern technologies easier, faster and cheaper. Digitalization in banking forced modern banks to reassess and change their traditional business methods that are for the most part based on the existence of “bricks-and-mortar” physical locations and to replace them with modern distribution channels, namely modern media, and the banking services based on them. Keywords: banks, banking sector, business models, digitalization, innovation 1. INTRODUCTION Digitalization is a process which shall engage all banks in the global market in the future, and banks that had recognized the importance of this process have already begun prospering in the market. The process of digitalization refers to an organized, concise ap- proach in which the services are provided in a far more simple and rapid way due to the im- plementation of modern technology. The purpose of research paper to analyze the influence that digitalization has on contemporary banks’ management and to establish the perspec- tive of this process in the future.
    [Show full text]
  • Swiss Banking Business Models of the Future Download the Report
    Swiss Banking Business Models of the future Embarking to New Horizons Deloitte Point of View Audit. Tax. Consulting. Financial Advisory. Contents Management summary 2 Overview of the report 5 Chapter 1 – Key trends impacting banking 6 Chapter 2 – Disruptive innovations reshaping banking 17 Chapter 3 – Likely scenarios for banking tomorrow 26 Chapter 4 – Future business model choices 31 Chapter 5 – Actions to be taken 39 Contact details 43 The banking market in Switzerland is undergoing significant change and all current business models are under scrutiny. Among several universal trends and Switzerland-specific market factors affecting banks and their customers, ‘digitisation’ is the most significant. In addition upcoming new regulations will drive more changes to business models than any regulations in Switzerland have ever done before. Deloitte has produced this report, based on extensive research and fact-finding, to assess how major trends and disruptive innovations will re-shape the business of banking in the future. The report addresses the following questions: • What are the key trends affecting banks and their customers? • What are the main innovations that are being driven by these key trends? • Which scenarios can be predicted for the banking industry of tomorrow? • What will be the most common business models for banks in the future? • How should banks make their strategic choice? This report will not give you definite answers, but it should indicate how to start addressing the question: “Where do we want to position ourselves in the banking market of the future?” Yours sincerely, Dr. Daniel Kobler, Partner Jürg Frick, Senior Partner Adam Stanford, Partner Lead Author, Banking Innovation Leader Banking Industry Leader Consulting Leader Financial Services Swiss Banking Business Models of the future Embarking to New Horizons 1 Management summary (1/3) Digitisation as a main Banks need to adapt their business models to key trends and disruptive innovations that are driver of change already having an impact on society and the economy.
    [Show full text]
  • Doing Business in Switzerland: 2014 Country Commercial Guide for U.S
    Doing Business in Switzerland: 2014 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2012. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. Chapter 1: Doing Business In Switzerland Chapter 2: Political and Economic Environment Chapter 3: Selling U.S. Products and Services Chapter 4: Leading Sectors for U.S. Export and Investment Chapter 5: Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards Chapter 6: Investment Climate Chapter 7: Trade and Project Financing Chapter 8: Business Travel Chapter 9: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events 1 Chapter 1: Doing Business in Switzerland Market Overview Market Challenges Market Opportunities Market Entry Strategy Market Overview Return to top Switzerland’s population of 8 million is affluent and cosmopolitan GDP of about USD 631 billion; growth forecast of 2.2% for 2014 In 2013 total exports from the U.S. to Switzerland amounted to USD 27 billion. U.S.-Swiss trade generally stable despite financial and economic crisis; World-class infrastructure, business-friendly legal and regulatory environment Highly educated, reliable, and flexible work force Consumer and producer of high-quality, value-added industrial/consumer goods Manufacturing sector is highly automated and efficient Strong market demand for U.S. components and production systems Strong demand for high quality products with competitive prices Highest per capita IT spending in the world Multilingual/multicultural European test market and
    [Show full text]
  • Swiss Money Secrets
    Swiss Money Secrets Robert E. Bauman JD Jamie Vrijhof-Droese Banyan Hill Publishing P.O. Box 8378 Delray Beach, FL 33482 Tel.: 866-584-4096 Email: http://banyanhill.com/contact-us Website: http://banyanhill.com ISBN: 978-0-578-40809-5 Copyright (c) 2018 Sovereign Offshore Services LLC. All international and domestic rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording or by any information storage or retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, Banyan Hill Publishing. Protected by U.S. copyright laws, 17 U.S.C. 101 et seq., 18 U.S.C. 2319; Violations punishable by up to five year’s imprisonment and/ or $250,000 in fines. Notice: this publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold and distributed with the understanding that the authors, publisher and seller are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional advice or services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional adviser should be sought. The information and recommendations contained in this brochure have been compiled from sources considered reliable. Employees, officers and directors of Banyan Hill do not receive fees or commissions for any recommendations of services or products in this publication. Investment and other recommendations carry inherent risks. As no investment recommendation can be guaranteed, Banyan Hill takes no responsibility for any loss or inconvenience if one chooses to accept them.
    [Show full text]
  • Private Banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein: Are Its Days Numbered?
    www.pwc.ch Private banking in Switzerland and Liechtenstein: are its days numbered? Our study is aimed at supporting private banks in successfully positioning themselves in the challenging Swiss private banking industry. October 2016 2 PwC Contents Foreword 3 The development of the private banking business in Switzerland in recent years, and a look into the future 5 Number of banks in Switzerland 6 Developments on the income side 8 Assets under management and net new money 8 Gross margin 9 Developments on the cost side 10 Number of employees 10 Personnel expense 10 General and administrative expenses 12 Cost/income ratio 13 US tax dispute 14 Position in international cross-border wealth management 15 Summary 16 The development of the private banking business in Liechtenstein in recent years, and a look into the future 17 Number of banks in Liechtenstein 18 Developments on the income side 19 Assets under management and net new money 19 Gross margin 20 Developments on the cost side 21 Number of employees 21 Personnel expense 21 General and administrative expenses 23 Cost/income ratio 23 Position in international cross-border wealth management 24 Summary 25 Abbreviations and definitions 26 Authors and contacts 27 Private Banking Study 2016 3 Foreword Are the days of private banking in Switzerland and to get into the market and challenge traditional players. Liechtenstein numbered? If you’re to believe what many It’s fascinating to speculate whether these new offerings experts and the media have been claiming recently, they will catch on or whether clients will stick to the traditional are: with the advent of the process to regularise untaxed banks for reasons of trust or because they’re uncertain.
    [Show full text]
  • SWITZERLAND Executive Summary
    Underwritten by CASH AND TREASURY MANAGEMENT COUNTRY REPORT SWITZERLAND Executive Summary Banking Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), is an independent body with sole responsibility for monetary policy as well as other central bank functions, such as banker to the state, lender of last resort and issuer of notes and coin. The SNB is also charged with maintaining economic stability and growth, but regulatory supervision is undertaken by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). Switzerland imposes no central bank reporting requirements and Swiss banking law makes no distinction between accounts held by resident and non-resident entities. As such, both resident and non-resident entities may hold fully convertible domestic and foreign currency bank accounts within and outside Switzerland. The banking system is dominated by Switzerland’s two global universal banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, but also includes 24 cantonal (state guaranteed) banks, 57 regional and savings banks, and many domestic and foreign-owned private banks and wealth management firms. The Raiffeisen credit-cooperative organization has 271 member banks and the Swiss Post’s PostFinance arm plays a major role in retail banking. A significant number of international banks are present in Switzerland. Payments Switzerland’s SIC (SIX Interbank Clearing) system clears all payments regardless of value, but PostFinance also clears credit transfers and direct debits bilaterally. Electronic credit transfers are the dominant cashless payment method in Switzerland and by far the most common means of business-to-business payment. Direct debits are also commonplace, and a direct debit scheme for company payments was introduced in 2006.
    [Show full text]
  • Schweizer Soziolinguistik--Soziolinguistik Der Schweiz (Swiss Sociolinguistics--Sociolinguistics in Switzerland)
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 384 204 FL 021 726 AUTHOR Werlen, Iwar, Ed. TITLE Schweizer Soziolinguistik--Soziolinguistik der Schweiz (Swiss Sociolinguistics--Sociolinguistics in Switzerland). INSTITUTION Neuchatel Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. de Linguistique. REPORT NO ISSN-0251-7256 PUB DATE Oct 93 NOTE 230p.; Seven articles in German; three in French; two in Italian; one in English. PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) LANGUAGE French; German; Italian; English JOURNAL CIT Bulletin CILA; n58 Oct 1993 EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Bilingualism; Communication (Thought Transfer); English; Foreign Countries; German; International Trade; Language Attitudes; Language Variation; Multilingualism; Official Languages; *Second Languages; Social Networks; *Sociolinguistics; Written Language IDENTIFIERS Germany; *Switzerland ABSTRACT The 13 articles in this serial issue are as follows (with all titles translated into English); "Swiss Sociolinguistics--Sociolinguistics in Switzerland" (Iwar Werlen); "Public Space, Medias, and Identities of Language. Reference Points for an Analysis of the Swiss Imaginary Collective"; (Jean Widmer); "Anthropological and Sociolinguistic Approach to the Question of Languages in Switzerland" (Uli Windisch, Didier Froidevaux); "The Speech Contents of Bilingual Pairs and Families in Freiburg" (Claudine Brohy); "Themes of Swiss Sociolinguistics as Reflected by Public Opinion" (Urs Durmuller); "Multilingualism: Preliminaries from the Results of the Language Data from the 1990 Census" (Rita Franceschini); "English
    [Show full text]
  • The Performance of Universal Banks: Evidence from Switzerland
    A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Rime, Bertrand; Stiroh, Kevin J. Working Paper The Performance of Universal Banks: Evidence from Switzerland Working Paper, No. 01.03 Provided in Cooperation with: Study Center Gerzensee, Swiss National Bank Suggested Citation: Rime, Bertrand; Stiroh, Kevin J. (2001) : The Performance of Universal Banks: Evidence from Switzerland, Working Paper, No. 01.03, Swiss National Bank, Study Center Gerzensee, Gerzensee This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/128007 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu THE PERFORMANCE OF UNIVERSAL BANKS: EVIDENCE FROM SWITZERLAND Bertrand Rime and Kevin J. Stiroh Working Paper No. 01.03 This discussion paper series represents research work-in-progress and is distributed with the intention to foster discussion.
    [Show full text]
  • Mid Year Report 1 January – 30 June 2012
    a centre for security, development and the DCAF rule of law THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY SECTOR ADVISORY TEAM (ISSAT) MID YEAR REPORT 1 JANUARY – 30 JUNE 2012 1 OVERVIEW OF ISSAT ACTIVITIES—JANUARY TO JUNE 2012 Introduction Working in line with the new Action Plan and Budget for 2012–2013, the first six months of 2012 have reinforced ISSAT’s engagement across the full range of services it provides to its Members, from operational advice and capacity building, to advocacy and the development of knowledge in the area of security and justice reform. In addition, the Team has continued to strengthen and implement fully its internal procedures, and in particular the management of performance and the effective processing of mandate requests. Since January, ISSAT has already agreed a total of 33 mandates for the year, covering the following service lines: Advisory Field Support, Training, and Advocacy & Outreach. Further details regarding the activities undertaken from January to June 2012 can be found in the Overview of Activities and ISSAT Training Calendar attached at Annexes A and B. This figure includes some activities that have rolled over from 2011, such as support to the Netherlands’ SSD Programme in Burundi, support to the Swiss SSR Programme in South Sudan, support to the UK’s Evaluation of the Security Sector Accountability and Police Reform (SSAPR) Programme in the DRC as well as the review of their South Sudan Development and Defence Transformation (SSDDT) Programme. Finally, following on from the positive feedback received after the Police Master Class held in 2011, a second course— ‘Senior Strategic Advisor’s Master Class on Police Reform in an International & SSR Context’—will take place in September 2012 in the UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Banking Barometer 2020 Economic Trends in the Swiss Banking Industry 
    September 2020 Banking Barometer 2020 Economic trends in the Swiss banking industry 2 Swiss Bankers Association | Banking Barometer 2020 Content Executive Summary 4 I. The Swiss banking sector 16 I. 1 The economic impact of COVID-19 17 I. 2 Economic policy environment 20 I. 3 Structural change 30 I. 4 Regulation 38 I. 5 Tax and compliance 44 II. Consolidated trend in Switzerland’s banks 52 II. 1 Banks’ net income 52 II. 1.1 Trends in 2019 54 II. 1.2 Trends in 2020 60 II. 2 Balance sheet 61 II. 2.1 Trends in 2019 61 II. 2.2 Trends in 2020 71 II. 3 Assets under management 73 II. 3.1 Trends in 2019 73 II. 3.2 Trends in 2020 78 II. 4 Number of staff at banks in Switzerland 79 II. 4.1 Trends in 2019 79 II. 4.2 Trends in 2020 81 III. Developments in selected areas of business 86 III. 1 Overview of assets and investments under management 87 III. 2 Wealth management in Switzerland 90 III. 3 Investment management in Switzerland 95 III. 4 Corporate banking in Switzerland 101 III. 4.1 Corporate finance 104 III. 4.2 Transaction banking 106 III. 4.3 Capital markets business 109 III. 4.4 COVID-19 loans 111 List of sources 116 Swiss Bankers Association | Banking Barometer 2020 3 Executive Summary Executive Summary The COVID-19 loan programme has provided a clear illustration of the contribution banks make to Switzer- land’s prosperity. The country is one of the world’s lead- ing financial centres and the No.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report 2015
    Helvetia Group Annual Report 2015 Your Swiss insurer. WorldReginfo - d0a7595a-e9f6-4504-8a99-f218f059e2bd Grown together The image of the tree on the cover illustrates how Helvetia and Nationale Suisse have grown together. Two have become one. Helvetia is now deeply rooted, receptive and open to future challenges. Last year’s reluctant convergence has given way to sustainable relationships between the employees of Helvetia and the former Nationale Suisse. We are therefore concluding this Annual Report by addressing the coalescing of two cultures and portraying the pairs and groups that are now paving a shared way forward as a strong team. A team that appreciates the benefits – and changes – that come from something new and is able to capitalise on them. The merger has given way to predominantly positive aspects. The willingness of all em- ployees to accept the new and unknown has been rewarded. Teams have come together, productive discussions have taken place, strengths have been pooled, new friendships and valuable networks have emerged, the product range has been supplemented in a practical manner, new values have been jointly defined and knowledge has been shared. These stories are supported symbolically with pictures from nature. The symbolism underscores the convergence and growing together of two elements into one interwoven entity. This benefits everyone involved – employees, customers and shareholders. Helvetia can now move boldly into the future – with the knowledge of this capable, growing partnership. Profile Helvetia Group with headquarters in Switzerland has grown over the past 150 years to be- come a successful international insurance group. Alongside its home market of Switzer- land, its core geographic markets also include Germany, Italy, Austria and Spain, which form the “Europe” market area.
    [Show full text]
  • ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland Federal
    Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications DETEC Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland June 2012 Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA Division Aviation Policy and Strategy CH-3003 Bern Principal Contacts Alice Suri Urs Ziegler Scientific Advisor Head of Environment T +41 (0)31 325 09 22 T +41 (0)31 325 91 10 F +41 (0)31 325 92 12 F +41 (0)31 325 92 12 [email protected] [email protected] FOCA June 2012 ©Photo FOCA 2009 2 ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland Table of Contents Introduction I Introduction 5 II Current State of Aviation in Switzerland 7 2.1 Legal basis 7 2.2 Aviation Policy in Switzerland 8 2.3 Sustainability 9 2.4 Structure of Civil Aviation Sector 10 2.5 Swiss Aircraft Register 12 2.6 Operations 12 2.7 Traffic Performance 16 III Historical Emissions and Prognoses 20 3.1 Historical Emissions 20 3.2 Forecast 22 Section 1 – Supranational Measures IV Supranational Measures 24 4.1 Aircraft related technology development 24 4.2 Alternative Fuels 26 4.3 Improved Air Traffic Management and Infrastructure Use 28 4.4 Economic / Market-Based Measures 31 4.5 Support to Voluntary Actions: ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation 33 Section 2 – National Measures V National Measures 36 5.1 Aircraft related technology development 36 5.2 Alternative Fuels 36 5.3 Improved Air Traffic Management and Infrastructure Use 36 5.4 More efficient operators 38 5.5 Economic / Market-Based Measures 39 5.6 Regulatory Measures / Other 39 Conclusion VI Conclusion 41 Appendix Appendix 42 3 ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland INTRODUCTION 4 ICAO Action Plan on CO2 Emission Reduction of Switzerland I Introduction a) Switzerland is a member of the European free trade association EFTA and of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC).
    [Show full text]