Public service mandate
Zürcher Kantonalbank was founded in 1870 as the bank of the people of Zurich. We are the bank that is "Close to you". We are characterized by a special connection with the people of Zurich, the economy, and the environment. Since our foundation, we have remained true to our public service mandate, which today consists of the service mandate, support mandate and sustainability mandate. It is our unique selling point - and we are proud of it.
Service mandate
We provide the people and the economy with the financial services of a universal bank. These include payment transactions, saving, investing, financing, retirement planning, financial planning, taxes and succession planning. When doing so, we pay particular attention to the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises, employees, agriculture and public-sector corporations. We also promote home ownership, construction of affordable housing as well as the achievement of greenhouse gas neutrality.
We provide our clients with access to our financial services across all channels in both the physical and digital worlds. We have the densest branch network in the Canton of Zurich and cover the basic needs of our clients at low cost. We are characterised by the high quality of our financial services. Stability and security are central pillars of Zürcher Kantonalbank.
Support mandate
In line with our public service mandate, we support the Canton of Zurich in fulfilling its economic and social tasks.
We are one of the largest providers of vocational training and are a major employer in the canton. We are one of the largest promoters of start-ups in Switzerland. We support the innovation and educational institutes in the Canton of Zurich. Our contribution to strengthening the canton’s competitiveness is an important pillar of our public service mandate. We contribute to the quality of life in the Canton of Zurich with our sponsorship commitments and awards in order to protect our natural resources and maintain social cohesion. It only goes to follow that we advocate for nature and the environment as well as sustainable mobility, cultural diversity, equal opportunity, access to financial knowledge, education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Sustainability mandate
We are guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and greenhouse gas neutrality. We pursue a business policy geared towards sustainability and continuity. Sustainability is an integral component of our business model. When fulfilling its public service mandate, Zürcher Kantonalbank, as a universal bank, observes the principles of sustainability and the recognised rules of risk management. Under our group strategy, we understand sustainability to mean harmonising successful business activity with responsibility for the environment and society on a long-term basis. We have set ourselves the ambition of actively shaping sustainability issues, being a leader in sustainable offerings and supporting our clients on their path to a more sustainable future.
With our sustainability mandate, we focus on operational sustainability, sustainable banking and promotion of the transition to net zero with the implementation of the objectives of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM). When implementing the mandate in our own operations, we are a role model in the areas of net zero and employee satisfaction.