The total number of Swiss banks decreased by 19 to 337 since 2003, according to figures released by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance....

The total number of Swiss banks decreased by 19 to 337 since 2003, according to figures released by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance. But the financial sector including banks, insurance and activities directly linked to them employed roughly 5.6 per cent of the Swiss workforce throughout the last three years, representing 181,400 people. And around one quarter (SFr17 billion) of Switzerland’s current account surplus is generated by the financial sector. Swiss and foreign customer asset management holdings increased from SFr3,224 billion in 2003 to SFr4,712 billion at end 2006. According to the official figures, net Swiss investment position abroad of SFr2,645 billion is larger than Switzerland’s annual GDP.