finews.ch celebrates ten years of covering financial services with a revamp. The finance website looks back.
2008: Economics journalist and author Claude Baumann (pictured below) launches a website with information targeted at bank employees. He is joined by fellow journalists Peter Bohnenblust and Ralph Poehner as well as information technology expert Michael Sicker. finews.ch goes live in a German-language version in October 2008 – the same month that Switzerland's largest bank, UBS, is rescued from collapse by the Swiss government.
2009: A growing interest in finews.ch spurs the founders to incorporate finews AG in Zug. The company is formally launched on April 29, 2009.
2010: finews.ch quickly establishes itself as a leading, reliable portal for financial news in Switzerland. The German-language editorial offering is expanded with columns on gold, ETFs, and luxury goods.
2011: finews AG reports a profit for the first time and hires its first employees.
2012: finews.ch's editorial offering is expanded with new columns; the company also launches marketing activities such as a banking job directory index and periodic surveys on sentiment in the independent asset management industry.
2013: finews AG moves into new offices in the heart of Zurich's finance district and hires several more senior journalists.
2014: finews.ch launches an English-language version, finews.com. The newsroom also launches finews.ch-TV together with Geneva-based online bank Dukascopy. finews.ch begins an annual «Finance Word of the Year». The editorial team of finews.ch wins the «State Street Media Award». Ralph Poehner departs from an operational role.
2015: The founders of finews.ch launch Finews.Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore, and the following year finews.asia. German-language trade publication PRIVATE Magazin awards finews.ch with its media prize for financial journalism.
2016: finews.asia launches to wide interest from Asia's finance industry. finews.ch-TV launches in Zurich with interviews from the financial services industry. finews.ch's journalists win Germany's prestigious «Comdirect Finanzblog Award».
2017: finews.asia (editorial team, pictured) reaches break-even; the newsroom is nominated for the «State Street Media Awards» in Hong Kong.
2018: finews AG takes over Finews.Asia Pte. Ltd. from the founders. The company continues hiring in Zurich and Hong Kong and prepares to open an office in Hong Kong.
2019: finews.ch's readership hits a record: in March, the website reaches 360,000 unique users monthly and 1.4 million page impressions. The company, which now employs 15 people, has been profitable since 2011 and plans to keep expanding in Europe and Asia. finews.ch clinches a partnership with the Swiss Finance Institute, or SFI, to launch a continuing education offering, «Master Classes».
