Zurich
Half of Swiss financial output—CHF 30B value added—concentrates here, with Google's largest non-US development center and #3 global fintech ranking, while UBS (180% of GDP) integration dominated 2024.
Zurich Canton generates approximately half of Switzerland's financial sector output—CHF 30 billion value added and nearly 100,000 jobs. The Zurich financial centre ranks among the world's leading financial metropoles; nine of the top ten global tech companies maintain Swiss operations here. Google's largest development center outside the United States operates in Zurich.
The canton hosts Switzerland's largest bank (UBS, with assets of 180% of Swiss GDP) and the second-largest (Zürcher Kantonalbank). The 2023 Credit Suisse crisis and UBS acquisition reshaped the landscape; integration challenges dominated 2024 while the combined entity navigated complexity.
Fintech concentration intensifies: 190 resident companies in 2023, Global Fintech Hub Ranking 2024 placing Zurich third worldwide for entrepreneurship potential (behind Singapore and Stockholm, ahead of London). The canton's 15,000 banking institution offices create density unmatched in Switzerland.
The SNB's December 2024 rate cut (50 basis points to 0.5%) challenged interest margins that banks depend upon. Yet Zurich's diversification—technology, insurance, professional services alongside banking—provides resilience that mono-functional financial centers lack. The canton demonstrates how regulatory stability and talent concentration create self-reinforcing advantages.