The Swiss bank is widening a domestic venture fund aimed at small- and mid-sized business. Credit Suisse's ardor for Switzerland coincides with what would have been the 200th birthday of its iconic founder.

The Zurich-based bank said it will widen a venture capital fund for Swiss small- and mid-sized businesses to 200 million Swiss francs ($199.3 million), from 130 million francs currently. The move is emblematic of big Swiss banks' renewed interest in fostering business at home, including with a government-supported partnership launched two weeks ago.

Credit Suisse's is topping up its venture fund to coincide with the 200th birthday of Alfred Escher, who founded the bank in 1856. He was a linchpin between politics, business, infrastructure, finance and education during a key period of Switzerland's development in the 19th century.

Swiss Roots

The fund typically invests sums as small as 250,000 francs to several million, in Swiss start-ups and small- and mid-sized companies in all industries, Credit Suisse said. The bank focuses on firms which require funds to invest in growth or expansion; those active in robotics and automation, medtech and fintech needing support to reach market acceptance; and small firms businesses of regional import looking to ensure that jobs remain local.

 «We are not just investing in the companies themselves, but also seeking to ensure that Switzerland remains a globally leading center of innovation and business in the future too», Didier Denat, who runs the bank's investment banking in Switzerland, said.

Infrastructure Legacy

Credit Suisse is hardly the first to tap the ghost of Escher, who played a huge role in developing Switzerland's infrastructure and financial center and enjoys near-diety status in Swiss establishment circles. Swiss private bank Reichmuth sells an infrastructure investment fund which taps Escher's legacy: it owns the carriages and rents them to railway operations.

Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Credit Suisse, often invokes Escher to underscore the bank's Swiss roots. Escher established Credit Suisse in 1856 as well as insurer Swiss Life – not to mention leading technical university ETH in Zurich – in order to carry out ambitious infrastructure projects such as the 1880 transalpine Gotthard tunnel breakthrough.

Credit Suisse said the nine-year-old fund is profitable, has invested in 52 companies and remains active in 29, and receives roughly 15 financing inquiries weekly.