Which banks issue personal loans in Switzerland?
- Author: Iohan Colarusso
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What are the main financial institutions active in the field of personal loans in Switzerland? How do they differ? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
The information for each bank concerns:
- Interest rates
- Loan amounts
- Repayment period
- Death insurance
- Sickness and accident insurance
- Unemployment insurance
The banks that lend money to individuals
8 financial institutions occupy the consumer credit market in Switzerland:
- Migros Bank
- Credit-now (Crédit Suisse)
- Cembra Money Bank
- Cashgate
- BCGE, Banque Cantonale de Genève
- BCVS, Banque Cantonale du Valais
- BCJ, Banque Cantonale du Jura
- Eny Finance
- Bob Money
Interest rate
Personal loans feature 2 types of rates:
- Fixed rates: cantonal banks (BCGE, BCJ and BCVS), The Migros bank and Eny Finance
- Variable rates: Cashgate, Credit-now and Cembra Money Bank
Fixed and variable rates each have their advantages and disadvantages.
The Migros bank, the lowest rate on the market
The lowest rate on the market is that of the Migros bank at 5.9%, as long as you submit your application online! If you go through a branch, the rate rises to 7.9%.
Fixed interest rates: lower, however subject to stricter conditions
The Migros bank and the cantonal banks offer low fixed rates varying from 5.9% to 8.95%.
These are low rates, but these loans are subject to stricter allocation conditions, lower loan amounts (maximum 80,000 CHF) and shorter repayment periods (with the exception of Eny Finance, whose repayment period can reach up to 10 years).
Variable interest rates: higher, however subject to more flexible conditions
Cashgate, Credit-now and Cembra Money Bank offer variable rates ranging from 7.9 to 14.5%, determined according to the customer’s profile.
Cashgate has the lowest variable interest rates on the market, starting at 7.9 %.
Credit-now and Cembra Money Bank offer above average rates (starting at 9.9%), however their allocation conditions are more flexible, the loan amounts are higher (up to 250,000 CHF for Credit-now) and the repayment periods are longer (up to 84 months).
Insurance policies: monthly repayment cover
3 types of insurance policies cover monthly repayments in the event of:
- Death
- Sickness and accident (loss of earnings)
- Unemployment
Eny Finance is the only bank to offer comprehensive death, sickness and accident cover as well as unemployment cover included in the monthly repayment.
Death insurance
Death insurance is mandatory; all financial institutions include it in their monthly repayments.
Sickness and accident insurance
Only Eny Finance includes loss of earnings insurance in the monthly repayments. For the BCGE and BCVS, insurance is also included in the monthly repayment, however it is partial and covers half of the monthly repayment amount.
For the Migros bank, Cashgate, Credit-now and Cembra Money Bank, coverage of the monthly repayments in the event of loss of earnings is optional, therefore resulting in an additional cost.
The BCJ does not offer insurance against loss of earnings.
Unemployment insurance
Coverage of the monthly repayments in the event of unemployment is optional for all banks with the exception of Eny Finance, where it is included in the monthly repayment amount.
- Categories: Banking institutions