ZHAW Wealth Management Blog

A Blog of the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences

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Can Banks Inherit Their Clients? Rethinking Loyalty in Private Banking

Wealth can pass from one generation to the next. Client loyalty does not necessarily follow. For private banks, this makes succession more than an advisory task: it is a test of whether established relationships can remain commercially relevant when financial decision making changes hands.

A bank may have advised a family for decades, supported its business and structured its succession arrangements. Yet the person inheriting the assets may choose a different institution. The transfer can succeed legally and operationally while the bank loses the relationship it expected to retain.

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy
Besar_Amza

Besar Amza (EFG): “Wealth is on the move.”

Join Chris Künzle, Senior Lecturer at ZHAW School of Management and Law and Founder and CEO of WealthSummit, for an exclusive interview with Besar Amza, Global Private Banking COO at EFG and a ZHAW Banking & Finance alumnus.
In this conversation, Besar Amza discusses EFG’s positioning and differentiation in global private banking, its international footprint and client focus, and the role acquisitions have played in the bank’s growth. He also provides insights into his responsibilities as Global Private Banking COO and the challenges of managing a growing international private bank.

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy, ZHAW WM Podcast

Swiss private banking benchmarks: a data-based view of performance, efficiency and capital strength

Despite the importance of the Swiss and Liechtenstein private banking sectors, systematic benchmarking data or KPIs on Swiss and Liechtenstein private banks are not widely available in a consolidated and comparable format. A new set of Swiss private banking benchmarks in table format provide this perspective. These tables aggregate selected key performance indicators (KPIs) for […]

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy
Largest_Swiss_Private_Banks_AUM_2025

The largest 69 Swiss private banks by assets under management: what the data reveals about market structure

Switzerland remains one of the world’s most important centers for private banking and cross-border wealth management. However, the structure of the Swiss private banking market is often discussed in broad terms, while systematic, institution-level comparisons are less common. A new ranking of the largest 69 Swiss and Liechtenstein private banks by assets under management therefore […]

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy
Art_Investing_in_Swiss_Private_Banking

Art, Trust and Growth: How Swiss Private Banks May Benefit

Art is a relevant element in the balance sheets of UNWHI clients. For Swiss private banks, this creates an opportunity to sharpen their advisory model, deepen client relationships, and broaden their role in holistic wealth management. But success will likely depend on one decisive factor: trust. Provenance, documentation, authenticity, and reputational risk may determine whether […]

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Investments, Strategy
Financial data aggregation

Financial Data Aggregation and Its Implications for Swiss Private Banks

The ability to collect and interpret comprehensive financial data is becoming more relevant for wealth management. A recent academic contribution highlights how new data aggregation tools make it possible to access financial information across different providers and asset types, including non-traditional elements such as rental or utility payments. For decades, private banks have relied on […]

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy, Technology

Chris Künzle: “Das geringe Neugeld im Swiss Private Banking bereitet Sorgen”

Herausforderungen für die Branche In einem exklusiven Interview mit finews und Herausgeber Claude Baumann erläutert Chris Künzle, Dozent für Banking & Finance an der ZHAW School of Management and Law, Unternehmer und Gründer des WealthSummit, dass die Schweizer Privatbanken zwar von hohen Vermögensständen profitieren, aber zugleich strukturellen Risiken ausgesetzt sind. Die Neugeldzuflüsse stagnieren, insbesondere aus […]

Christoph Künzle
Kategorie: Strategy