Can Switzerland retain its trust factor in the world of distrust?

Trust crisis

According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer in 2018 generally trust has significantly fallen. The survey check trust factor in 28 markets. Last year, 20 of them were considered as not trustworthy, which is up one compared to 2017. What is worth to note is that the United States recorded the biggest decline in trust ever. Mostly to blame are so-called fake news, as well as refugee crisis, corruption scandals or major privacy of data breach to which many governments failed to respond in accurate way. There is one country who has been so far spared of this global trend of distrust: Switzerland. It has been always considered as a trustworthy country especially when it comes to financial, banking, fintech services – not only by its citizens but also international community. In 2018 almost, 80 percent of Swiss citizens declared to have confidence in federal government. The score is impressive, especially compared with the OECD average of 42 percent. It is also the result 17 percent higher than in previous year. When it comes to corporate world, companies based in Switzerland were on the second spot in terms of trust – right after Canadian-headquarter firms.

Darker side of Switzerland

It all looks great in the survey, but reality is not always so bright. Switzerland has been forced by many scandals in corporate and finance sector, just to name USB affair of 2008 or more recent SwissPost scandal (there were allegations that is has manipulated accounts to receive subsidies from government). The brand of Switzerland as trustworthy country is so strong though, that these shady businesses are no threat to them. However, many realize that the country is liberal and open to business but also a safe bay for shady businessmen or risky deals. Commodity trading or arms trading as well as sport associations pose huge risks for the country’s prestige. Switzerland is considered the place to hide from both higher taxes and more strict regulations of other countries. That dual nature of Switzerland may at some point become an issue and a reason of decline in trust by citizens and foreigners.

In Switzerland we trust

Where does the high trust in Swiss federal institutions, corporate and financial sector comes from? First, the country has mastered skills of adjusting to markets’ trends. When the government sees losses are coming, it changes the strategy, as it did with dropping its – seemed sacred – bank secrecy’s rules or tax manipulation when the time was high. Secondly, Swiss people have great faith in capitalism and liberal market. They have deep-rooted belief that companies are good. Thirdly, there is trust in public institutions coming from citizens sense that their voice matter. The Swiss democracy is direct and allows big influence in politics by citizens.

What’s next?

Though this year survey is highly optimistic for Switzerland, there are some signs that trust could be slowly declining. Credit Suisse reported that 18 out of 20 top institutions in Switzerland lost trust last year, first time that happened since quite a long time. These organizations are still very much liked, but they have lost a bit of their trust factor. One can also spot some fractures in tight relation between Swiss people and government. It started in 2014 when public – despite government advice – voted in favour on mass immigration initiative. This year some of first regulations, being a result of this initiative, were introduced. They influence European workers and cross-border workers in Switzerland. There are also re-occurring worries concerning corruption and transparency. As Panama Papers exposed links between Swiss lawyers and offshore companies, many wonder if this is not just a beginning of unveiling Swiss noble figures’ role in dirty businesses.

At Exchange Market, we are particularly pleased about the growing confidence in the Swiss fintech, a sector to which ExchangeMarket.ch belongs. We can see how each day more an more users are registering to start changing money through exchangemarket.ch. As we are specialized in the EUR CHF exchange, we serve especially frontaliers and small and medium enterprises that are trading with the Euro-Zone. You can always check our exchange calculator to see the best Euro Franc exchange rates In Switzerland. To try out exchangemarket.ch you only need to register online – It’s so easy to start changing at the best exchange rate.