Swiss Post, which will see increased competition as the Swiss postal market is opened up to other operators, is keen to expand the range of services it provides, including mortgages and loans under its own name and is seeking further changes to draft legislation approved today by the Federal Council.

Overall, Swiss Post said it viewed the draft legislation as an appropriate basis for developing the postal market but raised concerns over restrictions to services with respect to the financial market. Swiss Post faces competition over the coming years as the postal market is gradually deregulated and said it already recognised the challenges posed by digital communications and was already heavily involved in the interface between the physical and digital worlds.

However, Swiss Post said that whilst the purpose clause in the new Postal Organization Act fulfilled an entrepreneurial requirement, it felt it would considerably restrict Swiss Post's room for manoeuvre in the financial market. It said it regretted that the Federal Council does not want to allow PostFinance to offer customers mortgages and loans in its own name and that Swiss Post saw this as a lost opportunity for the Swiss economy and for a sustainably healthy Swiss Post Group. To this end, Swiss Post has calling on the Swiss Parliament to amend the purpose clause.

Swiss Post also raised concerns that competitors may cherry-pick the most lucrative areas of the market, distorting competition and cutting into Swiss Post's revenue base significantly, warning that it would no longer be able to finance the public service from its own resources, as already demonstrated in a study published by the DETEC..

© Hellmail.co.uk (20 May 2009)

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See Also >>

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