As a founding partner of the Swiss Venture Club, Credit Suisse Switzerland has preferential access to thousands of SMEs. If the bank is integrated into UBS, the contract will have to be renegotiated. Could someone steal the valuable legacy from UBS?

Its name suggests a group of venture capitalists, but the Swiss Venture Club (SVC) is the Swiss SME forum par excellence. The association creates contact and networking opportunities for its 3,500-plus membership throughout Switzerland. The highlights of the club's activities are the regional Prix SVC awarded to selected companies in a particular economic region.

The higher goal of the exchange platform is to generate entrepreneurial impulses for Switzerland as a business location.

At Home With Credit Suisse

The network doesn't only benefit Swiss SMEs. For founding partner Credit Suisse, the SVC offers an exclusive link to corporate clients and bolsters its claim to be an «entrepreneurial bank.»

The ties between the association and the bank go beyond normal sponsorship. The SVC is headquartered in a Credit Suisse building in the Canton of Bern. Employment contracts of the staff are under the Credit Suisse umbrella, presided over by Andreas Gerber, a head of Corporate Clients at Credit Suisse Switzerland. Gerber took over in 2017 from Hans-Ulrich Mueller, who made a name for himself as «Mr. SME» and is considered the founding father of SVC.

Integration Consequences

Now, Credit Suisse's «Premium Gold Partner» could be up for grabs. Following its takeover by UBS, the base scenario is that Credit Suisse Switzerland will be fully integrated into the UBS Group, a decision that UBS will make later in the year.

Should integration transpire, the sponsorship agreement between SVC and Credit Suisse which expires this year, will have to be renegotiated. This offers third parties a rare window of opportunity to inherit Credit Suisse's premium partnership and with it deep access to a network with thousands of potential corporate clients.

It's an opportunity that others might also be tempted to pounce on, especially since sponsorship costs are no higher than a single-digit million figure.

Focus on Continuity

An SVC spokesperson said the association is pleased and grateful for the long-standing and close partnership with Credit Suisse, and the partnership continues. A contract extension with Credit Suisse was discussed before its March 19 sale to UBS and will be finalized with Credit Suisse and its legal successor in the coming months. Presently, «SVC's focus is on continuing the partnership with Credit Suisse or UBS,» according to the spokesperson.

The network would fall into the lap of the UBS bankers if they agree to inherit this Credit Suisse legacy. According to reports, UBS employees regularly attend the association's events, so it can be assumed the SVC is of considerable importance at Switzerland's largest bank. UBS also announced it will continue to fulfill Credit Suisse's ongoing sponsorship obligations which also applies to the SME network.

Golden Partnerships

But what if an external sponsor does throw its hat into the ring? It already has a number of Gold Partners include car dealer Emil Frey, telecom giant Swisscom, and universal insurer Mobiliar. Auditing firm Mazars and Industriellen Werke Basel (IWB) also joined as Gold Partners this year. «This shows that our commitment to entrepreneurship and SMEs in Switzerland is receiving great support from all sectors of the economy,» the  spokesman told finews.com.