Focus on deposit protection throughout Switzerland: How does deposit protection work?

Since the banking crisis in 2008, a lot has changed at the Deposit insurance throughout Switzerland done. At that time UBS almost collapsed and since then our Deposits up to CHF 100,000 per client per bank secured.

Then, in 2023, just in time for the debacle at Credit Suisse, a few More important changes to Swiss deposit protection added.

Exactly what deposit insurance looks like today, what you can do at Joint accounts and how badly things are unfortunately going with the Deposit protection of pension assets you can find out in this article!

What is deposit insurance in Switzerland and why is it important to know?

The deposit guarantee scheme in Switzerland is a financial security systemwhich is intended to guarantee the security of your deposits (credit balances in bank accounts).

Should a Bank Bankruptcy Since 2008, a new Deposit guarantee of a maximum of CHF 100,000 per client per bank in Switzerland is secured.

The addition "per customer per bank" is important, as you will learn in a moment.

You should also know that here it is clear that Normal account balance the talk is. Securities, valuable metals (so-called metal accounts) and also cash on certain pension accounts are treated differently.

To understand the differences exactly, let's look at how Swiss deposit insurance currently works.

How does the Swiss deposit guarantee scheme work?

The Deposit Guarantee Switzerland is regulated by law and receives regular adjustments.

Basically, deposit protection in Switzerland works through the following components:

Every Swiss bank must protect the assets located in Switzerland that are secured or privileged under the deposit protection scheme. 125 % hold. Here one speaks of the so-called Subtance protectionThis is used in the event of bankruptcy to pay out the secured assets as quickly as possible (within a few days).
If the secured credit balances are not sufficient, the Esisuisse (Association for the Self-Regulation of Swiss Banks) and can thereby draw on further 8 billion francs access. The 8 billion Swiss francs correspond to the legally fixed value of 1.6 % of all secured Swiss assets. As this amount has been liquid since 2023 and half of it is deposited with the SIX (Swiss stock exchange), access can take place within a few days.
Should this amount also not be sufficient to pay out all secured credit balances, the Assets of the Bank sold to create liquidity. This third step is correspondingly slow.

You can find out which banks in Switzerland are supervised by FINMA in our complete list of banks.

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How high is the deposit guarantee for joint accounts?

Since 2023, the Deposit guarantee on joint accounts new and also better regulated. Since then, joint accounts have been regarded as separate relationships, which means that up to CHF 300,000 insured for two individuals are.

A total of up to:

CHF 100,000 in the joint account of person A & B
CHF 100,000 in the individual account of person A
CHF 100,000 in the individual account of person B

Even safer: deposit protection at cantonal banks

Deposits at cantonal banks in Switzerland enjoy the highest level of security. This is because the cantonal banks' deposit guarantee is unsecured, i.e. also in excess of CHF 100,000.

Although this is not a guarantee, there is still another level of security here.

Attention exception: Not all cantonal banks are unsecured
The following cantonal banks are not protected without cover:

Bern
Geneva
Vaud

Since many have already forgotten, here is a brief look at the history of the cantonal banks: In 1994, the Solothurn Cantonal Bank got into great difficulties and eventually had to be privatised. The damage caused by the rescue of the cantonal bank amounted to CHF 400 million for the canton of Solothurn at that time.

What is not protected by deposit protection?

Unfortunately, the deposit guarantee does not apply to all assets throughout Switzerland. In particular not for:

Pension assets in pillar 3a (but is paid out privileged up to CHF 100,000 in bankruptcy)
Pension assets in vested benefits accounts (but is paid out privileged up to CHF 100,000 in bankruptcy)
Balances in bank accounts in excess of CHF 100,000 (Exceptions at some cantonal banks)
Cryptocurrencies and other alternative currencies such as WIR money

Is deposit protection sufficient at all for all banks?

There is always an excited discussion on the internet about whether the Reserves are sufficient at allin order to be able to pay out all deposits quickly in the event of an emergency.

The 8 billion Swiss francs pledged since 2023 would quickly be exhausted in the case of a larger bank. If other banks were then affected (which is often the case, since the banks do business with each other), the pot would quickly be at risk. But is that really the case?

Example: With around 800,000 customer relationships, Migros Bank is one of the medium-sized banks in Switzerland. At Migros Bank alone, CHF 20 billion of customer deposits are covered by the deposit guarantee scheme throughout Switzerland. In the event of insolvency, the pot of CHF 8 billion would not be enough to cover them. In such a case, however, assets from the balance sheet (the balance sheet total is about CHF 50 billion) would probably be sold.

Should therefore one or even several major banks insolvent become, the Reserves probably not sufficient. But whether the electorate will then allow the catastrophe is another question.

However, you are not powerless. Because further down in the tips, you will find out how you can Protect assets intelligently can.

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Is my money safer abroad than in Switzerland?

You heard earlier that in the Switzerland a coverage level of 1.6 % of the secured deposits is prescribed.

As a reminder: With 503 billion francs at present, this results in contributions of around 8 billion francs.

Deposit insurance in the EU

In the EU, only 0.8 % Coverage level prescribed and in most countries there is also a Upper limit of CHF 100,000 per investor per bank. However, there are exceptions depending on the bank. Many savings banks or cooperative banks provide unsecured deposit protection or cap deposits at 5 million euros, for example. A closer look can therefore be worthwhile.

Deposit insurance in the USA

In the USA, the deposit guarantee is USD 250,000. Here, therefore, a much higher cap is given than in Switzerland.

It is up to you to decide whether you trust a foreign bank and its security system more than a Swiss bank. With funds abroad, you should also consider the exchange rate risk, but more on that here in the blog.

Tips: Increase deposit protection Switzerland

To increase the security of your deposits, you need to know two things:

The deposit guarantee applies throughout Switzerland per bank and per Customer
Securities do not fall into the bankruptcy estate in the event of bankruptcy

With this knowledge, you can use the following tips to protect your assets in Switzerland:

Use at the latest from CHF 100,000 credit balance on a bank another bank and open an account there. Then you are again protected up to CHF 100,000 at the new bank.
Open a pension foundation (3a or vested benefits) with pension assets of CHF 100,000 or more. a client relationship with another foundation. Then you are again insured up to CHF 100,000 with the new pension fund.
Since 3a pots and vested benefits cannot be divided arbitrarily, a diversion can help here: If you want to hedge the risk of bankruptcy in your Pillar 3a or vested benefits account, invest in Securities. However, securities such as shares or bonds have an investment risk and fluctuate in value accordingly. Short-term federal bonds could be considered if the investment period is short. However, the investment risk should not be neglected.

How do you safeguard your assets? Feel free to share it in the comments!

Sources:

Esisuisse

3 responses

Doris says:

14. September 2025 at 20:46

Hello
When was this article written? On the homepage of Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank:
"The guarantee is limited to a maximum of CHF 100,000 per customer and institution. Multiple accounts are added together." So no unsecured cover as stated in your article.

Many greetings
Doris

Reply
1. Eric says:
  
  15. September 2025 at 7:31
  
  Hello Doris
  This is correct: The deposit guarantee generally applies up to CHF 100,000. The state guarantee applies to 21 out of 24 cantonal banks (see above for exceptions) and is considered additional security via the canton. However, the bank as such only guarantees up to CHF 100,000.
  
  Reply
  1. Christian says:
    
    11. May 2026 at 14:08
    
    But as I understand it, only 100,000 in total are secured in a pure joint account, which is much worse than in the EU!
    
    Reply

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