(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The ranks of Switzerland's prized finance sector are shrinking, as tighter regulation and industry consolidation force smaller wealth managers and private banks to close or merge. This content was published on November 10, 2025 - 10:11 6 minutes Mercedes Ruehl in Zurich, Financial Times

As of last month, 1,570 financial institutions held a licence, according to the regulator's public registers of portfolio managers and wealth advisers - a sharp drop from more than 2,000 before new rules came fully into force in 2022.

The number of private banks in Switzerland has also fallen from more than 100 a decade ago to just 82 today, according to figures from KPMG, which projects that figure could drop below 70 by 2030.

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“The sector is not just consolidating because firms are weak - many deals include strong players on both sides,” said Christian Hintermann, a partner at KPMG.“But the overall trend is clear: fewer banks, larger institutions, and a financial sector that's becoming leaner, more regulated, and more concentrated.”

Assets under management in Switzerland have continued to rise, albeit at a slower pace than emerging rival jurisdictions such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Overall, the number of banks including local lenders has also shrunk from 243 in 2020 to 230 at the end of last year.

New regulation has increased the cost and complexity of compliance, particularly for smaller firms, argue some experts. The Financial Institutions Act (Finia), which became fully enforceable in 2022, was intended to bring Switzerland's fragmented wealth industry into line with global standards. It introduced licensing for portfolio managers and trustees, expanding supervision over smaller wealth-management firms for the first time.

“There are a lot of players managing under $100 million, and I don't see how they survive,” said Sebastian Jeck, partner at Novum Partners, a Swiss wealth manager with $10 billion in assets under management.“I am certain there will be more consolidation.”

The end of banking secrecy and the rollout of international tax-transparency rules such as FATCA have also upended the business model that once made Switzerland a haven for offshore wealth.“It is no longer a place to hide money so many... no longer have a reason to exist,” said the head of a Zurich-based private bank.

Regulatory pressure intensified after the 2023 emergency takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, which created a domestic behemoth with more than $3 trillion in assets under management.

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