Now banks have crypto business on their radar

Digital assets? For many Swiss banks, this was a closed book until recently. But now some financial institutions are watching this area very closely. And a majority is no longer averse to taking the first steps in the direction of digital assets and exploring the opportunities. For Roger Darin, this comes as no surprise: «The demand for digital assets has increased significantly - that’s what many customer advisors are reporting from the front. Many banks are now looking to take a forward-looking position and provide their customers with expert advice. For me, those financial institutions that are now specifying their investment opportunities in digital assets will be among the obvious winners in a few years' time. The new interest among bank representatives was also evident at our workshop at last year's FuW Forum «Blockchain in Financial Services²», which was extremely well attended. 

A new mind-set
Crypto investments are indeed becoming more interesting for many banks, as a look at the latest EY Banking Barometer¹ reveals. For its study, the consulting firm EY surveyed more than 90 executives and members of the management of various Swiss banks in November 2021. Included: private banks, foreign banks, regional banks, cantonal banks and Swiss units of the two big banks.

According to the EY study:

• More than half of the surveyed banks expect cryptocurrencies to establish themselves as traditional investment products such as equities and bonds in the long term.
• Around 55% of the surveyed banks plan to launch an offering for investing in crypto assets within the next three years.
• 54% of the banks also believe that offering investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies does not conflict with their bank's sustainability goals.

«Banks and asset managers have recognized the added value of digital assets and are now thinking of ways to implement this in their own banks and financial institutions, » summarizes Mark Dambacher, CEO InCore Bank. According to the EY Banking Barometer, it is private banks that are particularly interested in the new asset class, with 68%.

Doesn't this entry into the new financial world also present banks with technical and operational challenges?  «Handling is simple: know-how, technology, services and infrastructure can be obtained as services directly from InCore Bank, » reassures Mark Dambacher. «The existing set-up can be used with no integration effort. As a result, digital assets are as easy to manage as traditional assets - while maintaining the same security standards used to. » For Roger Darin, too, a key point: «I think it's important not only to undertake the journey toward digital assets - but also to rely on the right partner in the process. »

As a Swiss corporation with a banking and securities firm license, InCore Bank offers a comprehensive and modular range of services covering transaction banking for traditional and digital assets, business process outsourcing and other services. This offering enables other market participants to reduce complexity and focus on their core business.

It will be interesting to see how the development towards digital assets will continue and which banks will enter the crypto asset market next.  

¹Banking Barometer 2022 EY
For the EY Banking Barometer, 90 executives (members of management) from various banks throughout Switzerland were surveyed. Of the surveyed institutions, 29% are private banks, 25% are foreign banks, 27% are regional banks and 19% are cantonal banks. 70% of the institutions come from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, 20% from the French-speaking part and 10% from the Italian-speaking part. The survey was conducted in November 2021. The data was collected and analyzed by EY in Switzerland.

²FuW Forum «Blockchain in Financial Services 2021
For the third year in a row, InCore Bank participated in the Finanz und Wirtschaft Forum at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute on October 19, 2021. At a workshop - conducted by Mark Dambacher, CEO InCore Bank, Roger Darin, Advisor Digital Assets InCore Bank and Michael Schneebeli, Partner at gwp - the three experts informed bank representatives interested in digital assets. Watch the video.