Almost unnoticed, the head of Merrill Lynch Switzerland opened a new banking unit. With his corporate banking arm, Manuel Ebner acquired firepower befitting the nephew of famous investor Martin Ebner.

While the talk on the Swiss financial market is the demise of private banks and the ascent of fintech, one pillar of Swiss banking has received little attention: the business with corporate customers. Wrongly, as it seems.

A new player has entered the market in early summer, research by finews.ch showed. Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) awarded the Corporate Banking unit of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Switzerland a banking licence. The architect behind the move carries a name with a certain ring in Swiss banking: Manuel Ebner (picture).

Famous by Descent

And that is not because a country boss of U.S. giant Merrill Lynch carries a certain weight in the banking world. The nephew of BZ Bank founder Martin Ebner is famous by descent. Personally, his banking career has been checkered so far.

Born in Peru and raised in Mexico, Manuel Ebner earned his stripes at Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey. In 2006, Manuel Ebner joined his uncle at BZ Bank, leaving the institute in 2009 for a stint at Rose & Sky Investments. Finally, in 2010, Merrill Lynch Capital Markets made Manuel Ebner their country chief for Switzerland.

Crowning of His Efforts

The former professional sportsman and father of three daughters ever since pursued the expansion of the Swiss corporate banking business for the U.S. giant. The foundation of a specialized banking unit is the crowning of his efforts.

The unit will be led by Mario Alini and focus on the so-called transaction banking, Manuel Ebner told finews.ch. It will also issue corporate credit cards, which allow companies to control expenses more easily.

Unmatched Financial Firepower

The weight of the mother company will be of particular significance in the prestigious merger and acquisitions business. Merrill Lynch Switzerland is able to rely the U.S. bank's financial muscle for example in the short-term bridge loans business – a financial firepower incidentally that even the biggest Swiss competitors will be at a loss to match.

Ebner aims at the big deals, unsurprisingly. He's focused on the top 50 Swiss companies and the support of international clients of the bank active in Switzerland. Merger talks between Holcim and Lafarge, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline and the failed attempt to marry Syngenta and Monsanto make it obvious that much may be earned in this segment.

Which is why foreign players attempt to leave an imprint on the Swiss market, having left the business during the financial crisis. Nick Bossart, chief executive of J.P. Morgan Switzerland is one of them. Commerzbank of Germany meanwhile also targets medium-sized companies, apart from the big corporations.

«In light of the mergers and acquisitions boom, Investment Banking as well as Corporate Banking of Bank of America Merrill Lynch detect growth opportunities,» Ebner said.