The Contempt for Private Banking Clients

On 12 October 2021, Quintet Private Bank announced that it was discontinuing its business activities in Switzerland. The move comes as no surprise. A private bank, like any other company, needs a clearly differentiated offering. It is about offering potential clients real added value: Something they don't get with most other providers. During Quintet's short period of activity in Switzerland, there was never even a hint of a convincing positioning. The bank wanted to present itself as trustworthy, but provided no credible reasons as to why it should be more trustworthy than others.

Buying Client Portfolios

The company entered the market by acquiring an existing bank. There is nothing wrong with that. However, growth was sought through the purchase of relationship managers, who were to bring their clients with them from their previous employers. This "growth model" is still widespread in Swiss private banking. It demonstrates one thing above all: a contempt for clients.

Clients are seen as a profit-making shiftable mass. Relationship managers and their employers work with competing goals. Both try to maximize customer loyalty. When a relationship manager leaves a bank, there is a showdown over customer loyalty. The customer's needs are the last thing that matters here.

The business model described above is only possible if investors have no alternative up their sleeves. The lack of transparency in Swiss private banking makes it difficult for bank clients to identify a top provider that suits their needs.