You (don't) talk about money! Visit to the Swiss Finance Museum
On 23.05.2024, 33 interested people met at SIX in Zurich to visit the Finance Museum. In two groups, we were presented with some highlights from the collection of historical securities as well as a brief overview of the development of banking in Switzerland.
This article has been translated with AI.
Switzerland is known for its discretion when it comes to finances. For once, however, we wanted to consciously talk about money by visiting the SIX Finance Museum in Zurich. 33 alumni and alumnae of the Zurich chapter gathered in the late afternoon of May 23, 2024 at SIX in Affoltern, where the Finance Museum is located in a basement.
As befits a stock exchange, we split into 2 groups - bulls and bears - and then visited the 2 exhibitions, each with a guided tour of the museum.
SIX established the Foundation Collection of Historical Securities in 2001. The purpose of the foundation is to acquire, maintain and expand the most important collection of international historical securities in terms of economic history. Following continuous expansion, the Foundation's collection of historical securities now comprises around 10,000 items. In proportion to its historical importance, the collection contains all eras from the 16th century onwards, all economic sectors and countries. The Foundation makes highlights from the collection accessible to visitors to the Finance Museum and explains the importance of the financial center, securities and securities settlement.
The face of Swiss banks has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Whereas personal contact in the branch used to be the main focus, banking has now moved to the smartphone. This raises the following questions: How do we pay, save and invest today and in the future? Which institutions do we trust? The second exhibition showed the origins of Swiss banking through to the development of the Swiss financial center and then contrasted them with the current digital trends in banking: From the counter to the app. Using a selection of original historical securities, the types of Swiss banks are presented, as well as global tech companies that are constantly driving digitalization in the financial sector today.
After the interesting guided tours, participants were able to discuss the topic in more depth and network over an aperitif.