Formal dressing is on its way out in banking – because customers want it that way. The latest bank to do away with suits and ties is a tiny bank in the Alps.
Urner Kantonalbank, one of Switzerland’s smaller cantonal banks, yesterday reported its full-year results for 2017. And announced that henceforth its bankers would no longer put on their ties when they turn up for work, according to a report by Swiss media «Luzerner Zeitung».
Doing away with formal wear means reducing the distance to customers, according to CEO Christoph Bugnon. «In our meetings with customers, we kept being asked not to dress so formally.»
Following a Trend
The decision is following a trend in banking. Swiss banking, the former mainstay of strict business traditions, has seen a string of banks revise their rules.
Bank Cler, previously known as Bank Coop, last year did away with ties and staff do not have to wear jackets anymore. The company is targeting a younger clientele with a dedicated digital offering. Ties don’t fit that image of a younger bank.
Even private banking, by definition an industry for rich people, isn’t exempt from the trend. Laurent Gagnebin, head of Rothschild Bank in Zurich, is meeting his guests in his office – without a tie – as finews.asia witnessed recently.
