UBS is leaving its imprint on Swiss banking, and not for the first time: A large number of banks have joined a certification for bankers developped by Switzerland's biggest bank, with one particularly surprising participant.
The move is a coup for UBS and it will affect how Swiss banks are doing business for years to come. A large number of banks have agreed to adopt the certification for bank advisers which UBS developed three years ago in cooperation with the Swiss Association for Quality (SAQ), the company said in a statement last Thursday.
The standard established by UBS is taking hold. The cantonal banks from the French- and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland agreed with UBS on a common, federally accredited standard for bank advisers.
Credit Suisse Joins Rival
One participant joining UBS and the cantonal banks may however come as a surprise: Credit Suisse, the biggest competitor of UBS in Switzerland, agreed to adopt the standard developped by the arch rival. This is the more surprising, because the bank developped its own certification process for its employees.
But instead of each bank adhering to its own standards, «banks in the Swiss financial center will have comparable benchmarks for assessing the capabilities and expertise of their representatives in wealth management and in retail and corporate banking,» UBS said in the statement.
Against New Regulation
The certification covers not only general industry knowledge, rules of conduct and bank-specific content, but also their application in advisory activities.
The SAQ is accredited for this certification by the Swiss Accreditation Service of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The certification is internationally recognized under ISO standard 17024. The certifications will bear the designation «Certified Wealth Management Adviser» for wealth management, «Certified Private Client Adviser» and «Certified Individual Client Adviser» for retail banking and «Certified Corporate Banker» for corporate banking.
The banks expect the move to bolster the training of banking staff, integrating new developments in a timely fashion. The certification will increase training transparency within the financial market, acting as a seal of quality in the global banking world. Last but not least should it help prevent new regulations by the state.
Reducing the Risks
The standards will streamline the consultation processes, reducing risks for the banks – a boon in times of rapidly increasing rules and laws.
UBS promised that the certification would be available for all banks interested. Remains to be seen whether the German-speaking part of Switzerland is equally eager to pick up the thread.
