On Oct. 1, Reuters reported that Bronson is more wary of crypto projects that develop outside of official scrutiny than he is of Facebook’s Libra project, which he says “is being done transparently.”
Switzerland will not make Libra impossible
Mark Branson, head of Swiss financial supervisor FINMA, said that he is more concerned with the dark corners of cryptocurrency than he is with Facebook’s stablecoin Libra.
Branson added:
“I am much more nervous about projects which develop in a dark corner in the financial system somewhere, spread themselves out through cyberspace and one day are too big to be stopped.”
Branson explained that Libra will face the same strict rules that apply to banks on top of the already tough anti-money laundering laws, but that Switzerland will not go out of its way to stonewall the project, adding:
“We are not here to make such projects impossible. We will respond to them with an open mind, with an attitude that same risks require same rules. Our rules and standards are non-negotiable.”
Switzerland ready to approve Libra
Cointelegraph previously reported that while some of Europe’s regulators are ready to block private “parallel currencies”, Branson stated earlier in September 2019 that the project fits perfectly into their existing regulatory framework.
“We have just published a guide on how to classify stablecoins under Swiss law. And we show: it does not need new laws. The risks are well known, for example regarding money laundering, customer protection, system stability. There are already regulations for all of these.”
Swiss Private Bank Says 400 New Clients Demanding Crypto Products
Swiss private bank Maerki Baumann has had a deluge of over 400 new clients wanting to tap its future blockchain offerings since it revealed its interest in the sector.
Swiss Info reported on Aug. 22 that the Zurich-based institution – which has $8.2 billion AUM but faces stiff market competition and an erosion of its margins – has opted to embrace blockchain to rejuvenate its business.
Bid to be “the go-to private bank” in Swiss crypto
In an interview with Swiss Info, Maerki Baumann CEO Stephen Zwahlen said that the bank’s revelation it would be launching a crypto business already signals a dramatic reversal in fortunes:
“In our traditional business, we usually have to run after each client. It’s … rather rare for clients to just knock on our door. We suddenly had 400 people wanting to talk with us. And they were exactly the kind people we had been struggling to access for 10 years … they were typically between 30 to 40 years old, very well educated and with an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Zwahlen said that Maerki Baumann has “the ambition to be the go-to private bank in the Swiss crypto arena”, underscoring that banking support for the nascent industry remains a fraught issue in the country.
“It cannot be that innovative Swiss companies have to go to Liechtenstein for corporate banking services”, he said. “Many of them represent a great opportunity to further develop our financial centre.”
Maerki Baumann’s initial focus – approved by its board this March – will be to offer business accounts and advice for start-ups launching Security Token Offerings.
By early 2020, it aims to establish partnerships with crypto specialists to roll out outsourced storage and trading services for Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Crypto expected to outstrip traditional business
The third stage of Maerki Baumann’s planned crypto business will be to provide advisory and asset management services for private banking clients who want to invest in new crypto assets such as tokenized shares. Anticipating great demand and pay-offs for this new area, Zwahlen said:
“I would expect over time that digital assets such as crypto/blockchain might even take on a greater significance than our traditional private banking business, particularly in terms of asset growth.”
Maerki Baumann won’t be taking Bitcoin directly onto its books, however, the CEO revealed, noting that the bank always outsources trading, clearing and settlement processes.
In summer 2018, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg became the first Swiss bank to provide enterprise accounts for blockchain and crypto-related fintech companies.
