Swissquote — The advent of a bank

Highly charismatic with strong interpersonal skills, voracious with words, propelled by 1001 ideas every day, a desire to be everywhere all at once, impatient… Marc Bürki has been described in countless ways, but one thing is for certain: above all, he is a model entrepreneur. In 1990, he co-founded a finance software and web application company in collaboration with Paolo Buzzi, a fellow EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) engineer and alumni. Six years later, Swissquote was born.  Publicly listed since 2000, the company has experienced explosive growth, attracting an ever-increasing number of both private and institutional investors — and today has become the market leader in Swiss online banking. Over time the company has broadened their product line and expanded internationally, now with 11 offices across the globe, 1,134 employees, more than 500,000 clients, annual sales to the tune of 531 million Swiss Francs, 255 million Swiss Francs in pre-tax revenues, and 58 billion Swiss Francs in customer assets. We met with Marc Bürki at the company headquarters in Gland for an interview.

2023 was an excellent year for Swissquote. Who are you capturing market share from?
Our growth over the course of 2023 is in part due to the normalising of interest rates. However, in Switzerland we also managed to capture parts of the market that were previously held by the big banks and, to a lesser degree, the regional banks as well. Internationally, in Dubai for example, several important expats have chosen to use the Swissquote platform to the detriment of international commercial banks. That’s because we offer similar quality services as the large banks, but at a third of the price. 

In which areas do you foresee strong growth ahead?
Three years ago, as a bank that was specialized in investments, we were simply not the primary banking institution for most of our clients. But then we decided to shift our strategy and become more of an “everyday bank”, which meant also offering payroll services. In order to do that, we had to expand the range of our services to include diverse payment methods — like credit and debit cards — and offer loans, specifically mortgages. That diversification attracted new clients and led to sustained growth, which is projected to continue. Additionally, in collaboration with PostFinance, we launched a new mobile application called Yuh, which facilitates payments, saving, and investing. With over 200,000 active users and 5 million Swiss Francs deposited, it’s become the largest FinTech application in Switzerland.

Tell us about your international development.
We are currently active in nine other countries. In 2023, for the first time, our international clients actually generated a more significant portion of our revenues than our clients residing in Switzerland. The potential for international growth is still considerable, even if the range of services we can offer is more limited abroad, with the exception of Luxembourg.

Do you intend to continue with your strategy of targeted acquisitions?
With a valuation of 4 million Swiss Francs and an excellent equity ratio that surpasses 25%, we are ideally positioned to continue our strategy of targeted acquisitions. We envision acquiring other companies using our own surplus funds or by raising capital, but we are very selective in regards to target companies, as the goal of any acquisition we would even consider is to accelerate our company’s growth.

Where do you see Swissquote in ten years?
Our primary objective is to achieve pre-tax profits of 350 million Swiss Francs by 2025 and we are on track to do exactly that. In a decade, we will have likely grown considerably, and our international presence will be much more pronounced. I do think we will remain independent because that’s a core part of our identity. From a product point of view, I imagine we’ll see an increase in the domain of immediate investing, with — for example — stock exchanges that are always open and a usage that is much more heavily driven by artificial intelligence. 

What do you think about the development of ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), blockchain, and cryptocurrencies?
When it comes to ICOs, after two less than lucrative attempts, I’m sceptical. Especially when it comes to local, defined and closely held SMEs (small- to medium-enterprises). I don’t see the benefit of replacing classic equities with the issuance of tokens. That said, my enthusiasm for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies remains strong. That’s why we’ve chosen to broaden our service offering in the sector, despite the prevailing scepticism of the past few years. Recent developments only serve to confirm the pertinence of our approach. 

What do you think about the framework conditions in the Geneva area?
The bigger picture of our region is truly unique, and, for companies, the framework conditions are highly favourable because of things like the dynamism of the Lake Geneva Regions, our proximity to EPFL, and the fact that we enjoy facilitated dialogue with the authorities. The income tax rate, which is around 14%, is reasonable, even if individual taxation here is not as competitive as in central Switzerland. Opportunities for higher learning and safety are also excellent here. In short, I have the impression that our region has been blessed by the gods. That attractiveness allows us to draw talent of the highest calibre, like our new Chief Operating Officer, Nestor Verriez.

Tell us about the 16-storey tower that is under construction here in Gland.
With 700 current employees, our current offices have reached their capacity. We actually have 150 employees that have to work from temporary remote offices. The new tower project is meant to allow us to unite everyone at the same location and would allow us to have the space to welcome new, very necessary collaborators as we continue to grow our client base. Of course, construction timelines are a big challenge, as it’s expected to take three years to build the new offices and two years to renovate the existing offices. That’s on top of the five years it took us to obtain the necessary construction permits!

A few years ago, you had a coding centre in Kiev: what happened to that?
We had to close the coding centre, but the resilience of some of our former employees, who are right there on the front and continue to send us code, is remarkable. We have since established our own technology centre in Bucharest, where there are many talented engineers.

If you were 30 years old today, what domain would you want to start a new business in?
In robotics, not with the goal of making money, but more because the evolutions happening in that space are truly spectacular. I’m convinced that in fifty-some years, numerous interactive robots equipped with artificial intelligence will be an integral part of our daily lives. I’m not only thinking of humanoid robots, but also virtual assistants, autonomous vehicles, and other innovations of that nature.