Swissquote partners with PostFinance in order to develop e-trading platform and extend reach to 60,000 further clients, with business commencing in autumn of 2015
Swiss electronic trading financial institution Swissquote has today announced that it has partnered with PostFinance, Switzerland’s largest online bank, in order to forge a long-term strategic synergy in online trading.
Swissquote will operate as a trading platform for PostFinance, commencing in the autumn of 2015, handling stock exchange orders placed by PostFinance customers in electronic trading. Swissquote has published that PostFinance will acquire a 5 percent equity investment in the capital of Swissquote, which itself has strengthened its operations substantially following last year’s acquisition of MIG Bank.
According to Swissquote, the partnership in securities trading which has been formed between the two entities represents a business synergy between the Swiss online trading firm and PostFinance which has a substantial market share in Swiss payment transactions. The collaboration between the two firms is intended to develop the online brokerage market, and they will continue to appear on the market seperately and to offer their own range of services.
Hansruedi Kong, CEO of PostFinance provided a corporate statement today on the partnership “We chose Swissquote as our partner for our future e-trading platform because we were impressed by its services and its capacity to innovate. This partnership will enable us to offer our customers an even better e-trading platform.”
PostFinance had been granted its Swiss banking license last year, at the same time as having received its license to operate as a securities dealer, which subsequent to this partnership will enable the firm to become an agent trader and acceptance point for approximately 60,000 e-trading customers, subject to approval by the Swiss financial markets regulatory authority FINMA.
Swissquote has reported that FINMA has been informed of the partnership, and will examine the request over the course of the next few months, with PostFinance’s current e-trading customers being given notice of how to proceed.
Marc Burki, CEO fo Swissquote made a commercial statement that ” We are delighted to be taking such an experienced, well-established partner as PostFinance on board with us. This long-term partnership will help expand the Swiss online trading market and strengthen our position as market leader.”
“Combining the largest online bank with one of the leading retail financial instituons on Switzerland unlocks huge potential in a range of fields including electronic asset management, in which Swissquote has substantial experience” concluded Mr. Burki.