Swiss Finance: Capital Markets, Banking, and the Swiss Value Chain

Introduction

Unencumbered capital markets allocate financial resources to their best value-creating uses for the growth and prosperity of the world. Despite the shortcomings, failures, and mishaps in Switzerland's financial development, the nation's successes to date can be traced to financial leaders who chose the right paths more often than they chose the wrong ones. No financial system can rest on its laurels, which is why Switzerland faces challenges, the results of which will determine the future well being of its citizenry.

Since the introduction of large scale private and public social security systems—in particular, pension plans—during the twentieth century, an ever-larger portion of business earnings have been siphoned from the direct reinvestment process to collective savings pools, where the capital markets have been responsible for their distribution. To efficiently allocate these financial resources, markets require intermediaries and legal financial structures that open funding channels to truly efficient and innovative enterprises.

It is beyond the scope of this book to devise revolutionary plans that might redefine the global capital and money market systems, but in describing the Swiss capital markets, attention is drawn to a nation where changes, adjustments, and improvements have been reactive more often than they have been proactive—responding to urgent needs rather than anticipating them. In short, financial storms and disasters, as well as pressures from ...