Raiffeisen Switzerland Group and Its Operations

The Raiffeisen Switzerland Group is a cooperative banking group that operates in Switzerland. It has a long history dating back to 1872.

The group is made up of over 360 local cooperative banks, each with its own unique character and community ties. These banks have a strong presence in their respective regions, serving the financial needs of local residents and businesses.

Raiffeisen Switzerland Group's operations are centered around its core values of solidarity, responsibility, and profitability. The group aims to provide its customers with a wide range of financial services, from current accounts and loans to investment products and insurance.

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The concept of cooperative banks originated in Germany during the 1840s and 1870s, thanks to the ideas of Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch and Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen.

Farmers in rural areas were the driving force behind these early cooperative banks, which were established to provide credit for seeds, machinery, and wares.

The first Raiffeisen bank in Switzerland was founded in 1899 by Johann Traber, a parish priest in Bichelsee.

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This marked the beginning of a significant expansion of cooperative banking in Switzerland, with ten institutions coming together in 1902 to form the Swiss Raiffeisen union.

Over the next century, the Swiss Raiffeisen union continued to grow, with a collective office established in St. Gallen in 1912 and expanded over the following 40 years by director Josef Stadelmann.

In 2018, Raiffeisen sold its private banking subsidiary, Notenstein La Roche, to Vontobel for around CHF 700 million.

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Raiffeisen's banking structure is unique in that it's a cooperative group, serving over 3.7 million customers in Switzerland, with almost 2.1 million being cooperative members.

The cooperative structure is a key factor in Raiffeisen's excellent capital ratios, with a CET1 ratio of 19.7% and a TLAC ratio of 26.0%. This is due to the fact that over 90% of earnings are retained within the group year over year.

Raiffeisen's domestic retail business holds a significant market share in mortgage lending, with 18.1% of the market. This is impressive, especially considering the group's focus on purely domestic operations.

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Raiffeisen has a vast branch network, with 218 independent Raiffeisen banks across 774 locations. This extensive network makes it easy for customers to access services and advice.

Raiffeisen's structure allows it to maintain a strong presence in the Swiss market, with solutions to more than 224,700 corporate clients, representing one in three businesses in Switzerland.

To summarize Raiffeisen's banking structure and principles:

Raiffeisen Switzerland offers structured investment products as a complement to traditional forms of investment. These products have been available for over ten years.

Raiffeisen Banks replaced its subsidiary Notenstein La Roche as an issuer of structured products in November 2016.

Raiffeisen is the third largest banking group in Switzerland, a testament to its strong presence in the country. The bank's Swiss heritage is evident in its values and operations. Raiffeisen has the largest banking branch network in Switzerland, allowing it to provide client proximity and personalized service to its customers.

This regional focus is a key aspect of Raiffeisen's identity and reputation, with the bank addressing its clients in their respective regional languages.

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Raiffeisen is the third largest banking group in Switzerland, a testament to its strong presence in the country. The company's commitment to creating value in Switzerland is evident in its entire value chain, from production to distribution.

The Raiffeisen Group boasts the largest banking branch network in Switzerland, allowing it to provide client proximity and address clients in their respective regional languages. This approach is a core concern for the company.

Switzerland is where the entire value chain of Raiffeisen's investment solutions is largely created, demonstrating the company's focus on creating value in the country.

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A lot of people have wondered if Raiffeisen's banking business was tainted by anti-Semitism. Not an anti-Semitic bank, according to recent research.

The researchers examined the history of Raiffeisen's movement in Germany, focusing on Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, the founder. Unfortunately, a lot of material from that time has been lost.

Despite the challenges, the researchers found an internal report written by Friedrich Raiffeisen around 1880 that contained many anti-Semitic stereotypes. This was an interesting discovery, but it didn't necessarily mean that the bank itself was anti-Semitic.

The researchers also looked at the archives of 40 regional Raiffeisen banks and found no evidence that anti-Semitism played a role in their banking business. Rejections of loans were justified on economic grounds, and Jewish names were found in membership lists.

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Raiffeisen Switzerland has direct participations in several enterprises, which enable them to offer a range of services to their associated banks.

These participations include Aduno group, which provides credit cards and consumer credits, and Leonteq, a fintech company where Raiffeisen Switzerland holds a 29% stake.

Raiffeisen Switzerland also has a 100% stake in Raiffeisen Unternehmerzentrum AG, a company that provides support to entrepreneurs, and a 3.2% stake in the Swiss Stock Exchange.

Here's a breakdown of Raiffeisen Switzerland's direct participations:

Raiffeisen Switzerland has direct participations in several enterprises, including Aduno group, which offers credit cards and consumer credits, holding 25.5% of the company.

Raiffeisen Switzerland also has a significant stake in Leonteq, a fintech company, with a holding of 29% as of September 2020, which increased to 39.98% by that time.

One of Raiffeisen's key participations is in the Swiss Stock Exchange, where they hold 3.2% of the company.

Raiffeisen also has a majority stake in Raiffeisen Unternehmerzentrum AG, a company that provides support to entrepreneurs, with a holding of 100%.

Raiffeisen's participations include several other companies, such as Swiss Bankers Prepaid Services, which offers traveller's cheques and similar products, and ResponsAbility, a microfinance company active in developing countries.

Here is a list of Raiffeisen's participations:

Raiffeisen has been reducing its participations in recent years, following a critical appraisal of these holdings after the departure of Vincenz.

The union organization of Raiffeisen banks in Switzerland is a cooperative that coordinates the group's activities and creates basic conditions for the business activity of local Raiffeisen banks. This includes IT, infrastructure, and refinancing.

Raiffeisen Switzerland advises and supports local banks in all commercial matters, taking care of risk management and auditing as well.

The group has a total of 246 legally independent Raiffeisen banks, all of which are part of the cooperative.

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