A private credit provides the customer with the opportunity to finance planned and unplanned purchases or to make extraordinary expenditures. Also for bridging financial bottlenecks the Swiss credit is used. Therefore, the costs are calculated by the bank and fixed by monthly installments or monthly payments. Monthly rates determined. However, there are also loans with more flexible repayment conditions. The costs in the form of the effective annual interest rate can be considerable and sometimes amount to up to 10 percent. Therefore, a credit comparison is useful and a consultation with a credit specialist to take advantage of, as well as our credit calculator to use.
Swiss credit – Checking creditworthiness
If consumers wish to take out a loan in Switzerland, their creditworthiness is first checked. The credit analysis serves on the one hand the security of the bank, but also to protect the consumer from over-indebtedness. By the creditworthiness check on the one hand the credit ability, but also the creditworthiness is checked. For this purpose, information on income and general financial circumstances is evaluated, as well as information on financial obligations.
Protection of consumers
In Switzerland, there is a federal law on consumer credit to protect consumers. These contractual guidelines mainly prevent borrowers from becoming financially overburdened and overindebted through a credit agreement. For this purpose, the Central Office for Credit Information, or ZEK for short, checks information on the borrower's financial circumstances. If it is found, for example, that the customer bank cards are frequently blocked, or payment deadlines are not met, the bank notice may be negative. If the information on income, tax, as well as the minimum subsistence level prescribed in the canton has been positively verified, solvent consumers will receive the loan.
Since 1. January 2016 there are no more instant credits in Switzerland (exception: up to 3 months term and/or from a credit amount of 80000 francs). Every borrower can withdraw from the contract within 14 days of signing the credit application without giving any reason (KKG 16 para. 1).
Legal basis – Credit Switzerland
Legally seen it concerns with the Swiss private credit a two-sided contractual relation, the credit contract exists between borrower (consumer) and lender (bank).
The motive of the borrower is to obtain financial resources to finance certain purchases or projects or. for permanent refinancing as a business loan. The motive of the lender lies in the achievement of interest through the granting of credit.
The borrower has the goal to realize a certain project, which is not possible with his own financial resources. The lender's objective is to lend money against interest and the security of repayment.
Statistical figures
Loans in Switzerland: some interesting statistics deal with loans in Switzerland. This is how the Association for the Management of a Central Office for Credit Information (ZEK) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) present statistical figures on the granting of personal loans. Here, ZEK records the consumer loans of ZEK members in the area of cash, installment, fixed and overdraft loans. The SNB has been dealing with consumer loans since 2005, in accordance with Article 1 of the Federal Act on Consumer Credit, or KKG for short. The statistics are representative and reflect the traditional credit business with the largest share of consumer loans.
Year 2020
In 2020, the volume of consumer credit contracts was 3.CHF 68 billion. The number of current consumer loans decreased by around 17.0 percent year-on-year to around 113.281 credit agreements (in the previous year, around 136.589 contracts).
2020, 30.8 percent of all creditworthiness inquiries rejected, compared with 32 percent in the previous year.5 percent.
year 2019
In 2019, the volume of consumer credit contracts was 4.CHF 45 billion. The number of current consumer loans increased by around 2.4 percent year-on-year to approximately 136.589 credit contracts were signed (in the previous year about 139.999 contracts).
In 2019, 32.5 percent of all creditworthiness inquiries rejected, compared with 29 percent in the previous year.7 percent.
Year 2018
In 2018, the volume of consumer credit contracts was 4.44 billion CHF. The number of current consumer loans increased by about 0.2 percent year-on-year to about 139.666 loan agreements were concluded (in the previous year approx. 139.366 contracts).
In 2018, 29.7 percent of all creditworthiness inquiries were rejected, compared with 28 in the previous year.5 percent.
Year 2017
In 2017, the volume of consumer credit contracts was 4.199 billion CHF. The number of current consumer loans increased by around 2.4 percent year-on-year to around 139.666 loan contracts were approved (in the previous year, about 136.555 contracts).
In 2017, 28.5 percent of all creditworthiness inquiries rejected, compared with 30.1 percent in the previous year.