Arab Bank Switzerland Starts Offering Bitcoin Custody, Brokerage Services

Blockchain tech firm Taurus and Arab Bank Switzerland are collaborating to provide custody and brokerage service for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its customers.

The CEO of Arab Bank Switzerland, Serge Robin, gave his opinion about impact of blockchain on financial sector.

Arab Bank Switzerland is a Swiss institution owned by the Jordan-headquartered Arab Bank group.

“We firmly believe that blockchain will disrupt the financial industry as we know it and we intend to be amongst the first banks to offer digital asset services to our clients in a secure and regulated environment.”

In August, Switzerland’s regulatory agency, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), issued banking and securities dealer licenses to Seba Crypto AG and Sygnum, two crypto centered firms.

In the same month, FINMA issued new regulatory guidance for blockchain-powered payments, targeting cryptocurrency exchanges, trading platforms and wallet providers.

Among Switzerland’s traditional financial entities, Swiss private bank Maerki Baumann disclosed last quarter that it has received enquiries from over 400 clients who are interested in investing in blockchain offerings since the financial institution disclosed its interest about the sector.

Even though the budding blockchain sector continues to face trouble in getting bank support as several legacy firms believe it as high risk due to FINMA’s suggestions, Hypothekarbank Lenzburg took the initiative to offer enterprise accounts for blockchain and crypto related fintech firms in 2018 summer.