Annual Report 2021

Successful Performance Despite Challenging Global Situation

Dear Readers

For 2021, we had all expected to see a step toward normality. It turned out otherwise, as again in 2021 the situation posed by the global pandemic remained a challenge for us all. The health of our employees and the stability of our systems were, and remain, our top priorities.

We continued to deliver on our growth strategy and reached important milestones in 2021. We are pleased to provide you with an insight into our progress, and to share some of the highlights we achieved together in this challenging year.

Read the full shareholders’ letter here.
Dear Readers

Performance

2021 was another successful year for SIX, despite the challenges and uncertainties that recurring waves of COVID-19 continued to inflict on society and financial markets. Our income benefitted from organic growth and the newly combined business of SIX in Switzerland and Spain: The Spanish business acquired by SIX in mid-2020 contributed for a full 12 months for the first time. All four business units of SIX performed well, although they were differently impacted by various external factors, not least in connection with the pandemic.

Video about the outcome

Growth Strategy

SIX is one of the largest financial market infrastructure companies in Europe. SIX operates a more diversified portfolio of activities than any other European financial market infrastructure covering capital raising, trading, post-trade, data and information services as well as banking infrastructure services. This diversified business portfolio puts SIX in a promising competitive position, allowing the company to tap into the growth opportunities along the entire securities value chain that add most value to its clients.

Read more about the strategy here.

Spotlights

ALTERNATIVE PATHS TO CAPITAL OPENING UP
ALTERNATIVE PATHS TO CAPITAL OPENING UP

BME Growth, on the Spanish market, has successfully led the way: SMEs belong on the exchanges. In 2021 alone, 15 companies chose this route for accessing growth capital. It’s now possible to do the same on SIX Swiss Exchange with Sparks, the SME segment launched in 2021.

More on Sparks
SUSTAINABLE BONDS BOOMING
SUSTAINABLE BONDS BOOMING

On the Spanish bond market, the term “Sustainability” set the agenda. Some 27 new ESG bonds came to market. This included the first “green” government bond, amounting to EUR 5 billion.

More on ESG bonds
CRYPTO INVESTMENTS ON THE RISE
CRYPTO INVESTMENTS ON THE RISE

On SIX Swiss Exchange, trading turnover from products with cryptocurrencies as the underlying asset increased by more than 637% in comparison with 2020. In February alone, the 2020 value of CHF 1.2 billion was exceeded. With exchange-traded products for a current total of 15 different cryptocurrencies, SIX Swiss Exchange is the leading regulated trading center for crypto investments. The highest trading in 2021 involved Bitcoin and Ether, for which SIX has calculated its own benchmarks since September with the SDX Crypto Index.

More on Crypto Indices
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE INCREASES CYBERSECURITY OF SWISS FINANCIAL CENTER
NEW INFRASTRUCTURE INCREASES CYBERSECURITY OF SWISS FINANCIAL CENTER

In 2021, the Swiss National Bank and SIX launched the Secure Swiss Finance Network (SSFN), further increasing the resilience of the Swiss financial center with respect to cyber risks. The SSFN is a monitored, protected network that is not connected to the internet. It allows authorized participants to communicate securely with each other and with the financial market infrastructure, such as the SIC payment transactions system operated by SIX. For now, the SSFN exists in parallel with the existing communication network of SIX, which is already very secure.

More on SSFN
OPEN BANKING GAINING MOMENTUM
OPEN BANKING GAINING MOMENTUM

Switzerland is setting the pace for Open Banking, thanks in part to self-regulation. Just a few months after a sector-wide initiative had defined standardized interfaces for wealth management, SIX implemented them via bLink. These complement the interfaces for account information and payments.

More on bLink
SWITZERLAND PAYS ELECTRONICALLY
SWITZERLAND PAYS ELECTRONICALLY

eBill transactions grew in 2021 by 25% to a total of 50 million. Today, more than 4,000 well-known companies invoice via eBill, reaching their customers directly in their online banking application. eBill now has 2.5 million users – a good half of all Swiss households.

More on eBill

Sustainability

Focus

With increasing demand for sustainable investments and evolving regulation in the area of sustainable finance, the importance of a clear stance on ESG and strategic ESG management has sharply increased for financial institutions. SIX is directly affected by this development in its roles as first, a provider of financial market infrastructure, second, a responsible corporate citizen, and third, a products and services provider for the financial industry.

Find out more about our activities here.