17 February 2015. In the last five years, “concrete gold” has been regarded as a safe investment in Switzerland. The high price level, stricter regulations and an increase in construction activities cooled down the speculation-driven Swiss housing market in 2014. The introduction of negative interest rates owing to the strong franc, and moderate growth prospects for the Swiss economy, characterise the current market environment.

The real estate market from various perspectives

What does the real estate market look like from the viewpoints of analysts, investors, borrowers and banks? Does real estate still provide a safe haven? And what impact does the current monetary policy have on price developments? Has the credit behaviour of commercial banks and private households changed? These questions are answered by the following speakers in lectures and a panel discussion during the “The future of Swiss banking” event in St.Gallen:

• Dr. Stefan Fahrländer, Chairman, Fahrländer & Partner
• Fredy Hasenmaile, Head of Real Estate Research, Credit Suisse
• Dr. Stefan Heitmann, CEO, MyMoneyPark
• Roland Ledergerber, President of the Executive Board, St.Gallen Cantonal Bank
• Dr. Thomas Moser, Member of the Enlarged Governing Board, Swiss National Bank
• Justus Vollrath, Executive Director, IPD Investment Property
• Dr. Daniel Brüllmann, Managing Director, Head Global Asset Management Switzerland, UBS

From 11.40 a.m. onwards, Guido Fluri, Dr. Daniel Brüllmann and Justus Vollrath will have a panel discussion on the perspectives of the Swiss real estate markets. Roland Füss, Professor of Real Estate Finance at the HSG, will chair the discussion, after which the speakers will answer conference guests’ questions.

Series of events on “The future of Swiss banking”
Every two years, the HSG Alumni network pools forces with the School of Finance of the University of St.Gallen to focus on an issue of economic policy that concerns Switzerland as a financial centre. The topic of the first conference in February 2012 was “How big, how complex should banks be?”