🏔️ Everyone Quit. Switzerland Called a Vote.
The global ESG retreat is real. Switzerland's response is, characteristically, to put it on a ballot.
Last year, UBS quit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. So did JPMorgan. Goldman Sachs. HSBC. The whole club dissolved in October after Trump’s election made the optics untenable and the compliance teams nervous. Members had committed to aligning their lending with net-zero by 2050. Which sounds fine. But pledges without enforcement are just press releases with better typography, and when the political winds shifted, those pledges evaporated with remarkable speed. Swiss Re and Zurich quietly stopped submitting their climate targets for external validation too. Sustainable finance is having what you might charitably call a rough patch.
Into this wreckage walks a Swiss citizens’ initiative, 145,000 signatures in hand, with a proposal to make fossil fuel financing restrictions legally binding. Not aspirational. Not a voluntary framework. Law. It would bar Swiss financial institutions from funding new fossil fuel extraction projects across the full stack: insurance, credit, asset management, wealth management. Plus a supervisory authority with real sanctioning power, which is the part that concentrates minds in boardrooms. Swiss finance manages roughly one-fifth of all cross-border assets invested globally. Its scope 3 emissions, the indirect ones from what it finances abroad, dwarf Switzerland’s entire domestic carbon output many times over. That’s not rhetoric. That’s arithmetic.
Here’s what matters: this is going to a vote. Not a parliamentary committee. Not a CEO pledge ceremony. A vote. The coalition behind it runs from the PLR to the Greens to finance sector representatives, which is an unusual spread, and collecting 145,000 signatures while the rest of the world dismantles ESG infrastructure is, at minimum, a data point. Parliament will get its hands on it eventually; initiatives rarely survive the Federal Council unchanged. But the referendum itself forces a real answer to a question everyone else has been answering with press releases.
The standard objection is competitiveness: imposing restrictions while rivals retreat means lost business. It’s not a stupid argument. It’s also been used to delay every financial regulation in every jurisdiction for forty years. Swiss finance survived serious banking secrecy reform. It’ll survive this too, if it comes to that. The voters will decide. That’s a sentence you genuinely cannot write about most financial regulatory processes.
Have a great week!
M. Hantale 🧀
- 🇺🇸 Diplomacy. Trump relaunches negotiations with Iran, whilst threatening fresh attacks if no agreement is reached.
- 🇮🇷 Conflict. Iran maintains the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, forcing several LNG tankers to turn back.
- 🇨🇭 Politics. Swiss voters will decide on the relaxation of weapons export rules, contested by a referendum that gathered 75,000 signatures.
- 🇮🇱 Conflict. Netanyahu weakened after accepting a ceasefire in Lebanon under pressure from Washington, whilst Israeli public opinion wished to continue the offensive against Hezbollah.
- 🌍 Economy. The IMF warns that the war in the Middle East will slow global growth and increase the risk of recession.
Economy & Finance
- 🇫🇷 Inflation. Harmonised inflation in France reached 2% year-on-year in March, compared with 1.1% the previous month.
- 🇷🇴 Inflation. Annual inflation in Romania reaches 9.9%, driven by rising fuel prices.
- 🇪🇺 Inflation. Eurozone inflation for March has been revised upwards to 2.6%, driven by a stronger than expected increase in energy prices.
- 🇺🇸 Growth. Global financing falls by 23% in 2025, with the United States accounting for three-quarters of this historic decline.
- 🇫🇷 Taxation. Revenue from the property wealth tax will reach €2.3bn in 2025, up 8% year-on-year.
- 🇩🇪 Taxation. Germany will temporarily reduce the tax on diesel and petrol by €0.17/l for two months to support households and businesses in the face of rising energy prices.
- 🇪🇺 Budget. A power struggle is pitting NATO against the EU over control of $1,000bn in new annual military spending, amid mounting pressure to strengthen Europe’s defence industry.
- 🇫🇷 Deficit. France is preparing to freeze €6bn in public spending in order to limit the deterioration of its deficit in 2026.
- 🇬🇧 Deficit. Bond markets are punishing the United Kingdom, Italy and France, whose 10-year borrowing costs have risen the most in Europe since the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
- 🇪🇺 Investment. Brussels is to reform its merger scrutiny criteria to give greater weight to innovation and internal market resilience.
- 🇫🇷 Insolvencies. Nearly 19,000 French companies were placed in difficulty in the first quarter of 2026, a historic record for this period.
- 🇪🇺 Rates. A single interest rate rise by the ECB is anticipated in June, whilst the institution is expected to remain cautious in the face of uncertainty.
- 🇪🇺 Raw materials. The EU and the United States finalise an agreement to secure the supply of critical minerals in the face of Chinese dominance.
- 🇪🇺 Trade. The EU’s trade surplus fell to €9.1bn in February, compared with €22.9bn a year earlier, following a surge in exports ahead of American tariff increases.
- 🇺🇸 Trade. Switzerland is pursuing discussions with Washington to establish a clear commercial framework, despite the recent American investigation into its trade practices.
Switzerland
- 🇨🇭 Justice. Zurich’s Supreme Court orders the prosecution of Lukas Hässig, presenter of the Inside Paradeplatz blog, for alleged violation of banking secrecy in the Pierin Vincenz case.
- 🇨🇭 Justice. Four new people have been charged in the investigation into the Crans-Montana fire, bringing the number of accused to 13.
- 🇨🇭 Justice. French justice refuses to seize the assets of the owners of the bar in Crans-Montana, implicated in the fire that killed 41 people and injured 115 on New Year’s Day.
- 🇨🇭 Health. The Federal Court has ordered the publication without redactions of the vaccine purchase contracts concluded by the FOPH with Moderna and Novavax.
- 🇨🇭 Health. 72% of Swiss people say they are in favour of electronic storage of their medical data, provided they can control access to this information.
- 🇨🇭 Real estate. Switzerland is tightening the conditions for the sale of residential properties to foreigners, restricting access for both primary residences and holiday homes.
- 🇨🇭 Mobility. The SBB is launching direct connections this summer to Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Avignon, from Thursday to Monday between 27 June and 23 August.
- 🇨🇭 Archaeology. A storm destroyed a Neolithic village recently uncovered near Biel 5,860 years ago, according to new analyses.
- 🇨🇭 Politics. Three cantons will be able to use electronic voting in the federal ballot on 14 June, following validation by the Federal Chancellery.
- 🇨🇭 Security. Phone scams impersonating fake police officers or bankers have already cost 2.4m CHF in French-speaking Switzerland since January.
- 🇨🇭 Security. Entry bans to Switzerland have quadrupled in 2025, reaching 614 cases, mainly for reasons linked to terrorism.
- 🇨🇭 Solidarity. Switzerland is releasing an additional 23 million Swiss francs in humanitarian aid to support the population of war-torn Sudan.
Elsewhere in the World
- 🇧🇬 Elections. The coalition led by former president Rumen Radev comes out well ahead in Bulgaria’s legislative elections, relegating the right to second place.
- 🇨🇦 Government. Christine Fréchette becomes the new Prime Minister of Quebec after winning the leadership of the ruling party.
- 🇪🇸 Justice. The wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been charged with corruption following a two-year judicial investigation.
- 🇹🇹 Justice. Trinidad and Tobago has opened an investigation following the discovery of 50 babies’ bodies and 6 adults in a cemetery, suspecting illegal disposal of unclaimed corpses.
- 🇨🇩 Conflict. Talks between the Congolese government and M23 rebels are being held near Montreux, relocated from the Middle East due to regional tensions.
- 🇪🇸 Immigration. Spain launches an exceptional plan to regularise nearly 500,000 undocumented migrants by the end of June.
- 🇻🇪 Energy. Repsol regains management of its oil assets in Venezuela and aims to triple its production within three years following an agreement with the government.
- 🇰🇵 Defence. The IAEA alerts to a « very serious » progression in North Korea’s capabilities to produce nuclear weapons.
- 🇦🇺 Defence. Australia announces an increase in military spending to 3% of GDP by 2033, compared with 2% currently.
- 🇻🇪 Diplomacy. The IMF has officially restored its relations with Venezuela, suspended since 2019 following the institution’s recognition of the opposition.
- 🇨🇺 Diplomacy. Spain, Mexico and Brazil call for « sincere dialogue » to help Cuba out of its serious humanitarian crisis.
- 🇺🇸 Politics. New York launches a luxury second homes tax project, symbol of a political shift against the wealthy in the city.
- 🇪🇺 Rights. Over 1M European citizens call on Brussels to sanction Israel for human rights violations in Gaza.
- 🇬🇧 Security. Several arson attacks with antisemitic motives have targeted synagogues and Jewish community premises in London in recent weeks, raising concerns.
- 🇹🇷 Security. 162 people have been arrested in Turkey following two shootings at schools in the south and south-east of the country.
- 🇨🇭 Insurance. Swiss Re validates a dividend of $8 per share.
- 🇨🇭 Transport. Edelweiss is discontinuing its flights to Denver, Seattle and Oman, citing rising fuel prices and falling demand.
- 🇫🇷 Distribution. Kiabi is entering French-speaking Switzerland with the opening of two stores and the launch of a multilingual online site.
- 🇨🇭 M&A. Zurich-based fund Herbert Ventures launches an unprecedented « one shot » strategy with €32.5M, targeting 30 early-stage European startups.
- 🇹🇬 Food and Agriculture. Gebana launches chocolate production directly in Togo, betting on local processing as cocoa prices plummet by more than 50% in a year.
- 🇨🇭 Food and beverage. Nestlé is undertaking a major cultural shift and streamlining its organisation to accelerate innovation and growth.
SMI Index
| Name | Price | Mkt Cap | 7d Chg | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nestlé | 79.02 | – | ▲ +3.55% | ▲ +7.60% |
| Novartis | 118.82 | – | ▼ -1.21% | ▲ +12.84% |
| Roche | 322.30 | – | ▲ +1.32% | ▲ +2.05% |
| UBS | 34.45 | – | ▲ +2.90% | ▼ -9.75% |
| Zurich Insurance | 559.80 | – | ▲ +1.30% | ▼ -1.45% |
| ABB | 75.48 | – | ▲ +4.54% | ▲ +25.08% |
| Sika | 157.20 | – | ▲ +6.11% | ▼ -1.23% |
| Lonza | 543.40 | – | ▲ +2.72% | ▲ +1.46% |
| Geberit | 560.40 | – | ▲ +4.99% | ▼ -6.81% |
| Swiss Life | 940.00 | – | ▲ +1.67% | ▲ +0.84% |
| Partners Group | 949.20 | – | ▲ +7.67% | ▼ -7.84% |
| Givaudan | 2,964.00 | – | ▲ +3.31% | ▼ -1.94% |
| Swisscom | 650.50 | – | ▼ -2.40% | ▲ +16.72% |
| Swiss Re | 131.55 | – | ▲ +1.90% | ▲ +7.53% |
| Holcim | 74.04 | – | ▲ +2.07% | ▼ -5.25% |
| Julius Bär | 63.02 | – | ▲ +2.64% | ▼ -0.02% |
| Alcon | 63.90 | – | ▲ +1.36% | ▲ +0.57% |
| SGS | 89.14 | – | ▲ +4.31% | ▼ -0.44% |
| Logitech | 78.84 | – | ▲ +5.68% | ▼ -0.81% |
| Straumann | 92.38 | – | ▲ +6.21% | ▼ -2.04% |
📅 Data as of 2026-04-20 11:19
Forex CHF
| Pair | Rate | 7d Chg | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/CHF | 0.92 | ▼ -0.11% | ▼ -1.09% |
| USD/CHF | 0.78 | ▲ +0.01% | ▼ -1.10% |
| GBP/CHF | 1.06 | ▼ -0.18% | ▼ -0.99% |
📅 Data as of 2026-04-20 11:18
The cement map runs through Zug
Cement is 8% of global CO2. Not oil. Not aviation. Not shipping. The grey powder nobody photographs produces more carbon than the world’s airlines and container fleets put together. As a country, the cement industry would be the third-largest emitter on earth. 1.6B metric tons in 2022, heading for 3.8B by 2050 on current trends. The world’s third-largest producer of the stuff, Holcim, files its accounts in Zug.
Holcim posted CHF26.4B in net sales last year and a 19.1% EBIT margin, a record. It also has four Indonesian fishermen, from an island slowly sinking into the Java Sea, suing it for climate damages in a Swiss cantonal court. In December 2025 a Zug judge let the case proceed. First time that has happened in Switzerland. Same company, same quarter, is spinning off its entire North American arm into a separate NYSE listing called Amrize. The shareholder deck and the writ of summons sit on the same desk in the same building.
Around that building, something useful is happening. Neustark, an ETH Zurich spinoff, has raised $69M to mineralise CO2 into crushed demolition concrete. Its customers include UBS, Zürcher Kantonalbank, Microsoft and Swiss International Air Lines, which suggests the counterparties believe the accounting stands up. Nineteen storage sites across Europe so far. Oxara, also out of ETH, turns recycled concrete fines into binders. Medusoil, at EPFL, grows mineral bonds with micro-organisms at room temperature, kiln optional. None of this replaces structural concrete this decade. None has to. Cut clinker ratios, swap fuels, capture the rest. Unsexy work.
Brussels and Bern reached the same conclusion from opposite ends. The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism went live in January, a tariff machine covering cement, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen, with importers buying certificates priced off the ETS. Annex II exempts EFTA, so Switzerland is out. Bern instead issued SIA 390/1 in February 2025, a building lifecycle standard that quietly became the reference in public procurement. No border tax. No certificate market. Just a number every architect now has to hit.
The numbers do not add up yet, and pretending otherwise is embarrassing. Holcim reports a 40% cut in CO2 per tonne of Swiss cement since 1990. The industry globally claims 25%. The Paris-aligned trajectory requires another 16% absolute cut by 2030. Holcim’s own 2050 roadmap concedes 44% of residual emissions will lean on CCUS, a technology that has exactly one industrial-scale reference, Heidelberg Materials’ Brevik plant in Norway, which opened last summer. As one ETH professor put it: cement wins because it always wins. Robust, cheap, boring.
Switzerland has not solved cement. Nobody has. What it has is the labs, the industrial players, the standard-setters and now the judges operating within two hours of each other, arguing over the same spreadsheet. That proximity, not the PR, is the interesting variable.