UBS launches key4 – the new mortgage platform for owner-occupied homes

Zurich, 26 June 2020 – UBS launches key4, the new open online platform for financing and maintaining owner-occupied homes and housing.

Axel P. Lehmann, President UBS Switzerland, comments: “The innovative key4 online platform forms a central part of UBS’s digital strategy in Switzerland. It is the logical continuation of our platform business that we started three years ago with the “UBS Atrium” credit platform in the investment property sector. Together with key4, we aim to become the market leader in the platform business and mortgage brokerage with a medium-term mortgage volume of CHF 5 to 10 billion.”

With key4, UBS is complementing its range of first-class, comprehensive advisory services and expanding its mortgage solutions to meet changing client needs.

Designed to meet the needs of digital-savvy clients, to start with, the platform offers an uncomplicated way of extending existing mortgages. For financing owner-occupied housing, Swiss private clients may choose from a range of offers from selected Swiss third-party investors on the platform. They can take advantage of attractive conditions offered by various institutional investors such as pension funds, investment foundations or banks, including UBS. The easy to use online user journey allows clients to compare different offers and decide on the most suitable financing for their new owner-occupied home.

Martha Böckenfeld, Head Digital Platforms & Marketplaces: "With key4, we aren't only launching a digital financing platform for owner-occupied residential property that is geared to the needs of digitally-savvy mortgage clients. The platform will additionally offer an open ecosystem of numerous further services, also thanks to partnerships with selected third parties. This allows us to provide our clients relevant information and solutions on all issues relating to housing and home financing from a single source."

In addition to real estate financing, the focus will be on numerous services and orientation aids for real estate owners, which cover the entire life cycle of a property: from finding and buying an owner-occupied home, to extending existing mortgages, to ongoing partnership offers around the subject of home ownership and housing. In a next step, thanks to the open partnership model of key4, clients will receive all relevant information relating to home ownership and housing that go far beyond pure financing.

In a following phase, from autumn 2020, it will also be possible to conclude new mortgages via the platform . The platform will be expanded continuously to include additional services and further partnership offers.

How key4 works

key4 is available to prospective clients on desktop, smartphone or tablet, where the central information on the desired mortgage, the property and the individual financial situation is recorded online. The most attractive non-binding offers from the various providers are displayed within seconds. If the client expresses an interest in a binding offer, he/she selects his/her preferred time slot for a telephone advisory consultation. The applicant will receive a personal offer along with the scheduling confirmation as a basis for the discussion during consultation. Once the financing has been completed, key4 manages, supports and administers the mortgage from a single source, regardless of which provider the client chooses.

About 'key4 by UBS

“key4 – by UBS” combines the expertise and trust in UBS with five clearly defined pillars:

• The “mobile first” approach for digital-savvy clients
• Simplicity and needs orientation for self-directed clients
• Attractive and transparent conditions
• Convenient and seamlessly transmitted financial services
• Content and services that offer clients tailored added value

These elements are underscored by the new presentation of the key4 brand with independent elements, colors and fonts, as an addition, and are independently positioned under the UBS umbrella brand.

UBS Switzerland AG