In private banking, Vontobel has been looking for growth abroad for some time. But under Switzerland boss Jean-Pierre Stillhart that approach is changing, as he revealed for the first time to finews.ch. The 2015 results to be announced Thursday will give an indication of how far this has prospered.
Swiss private banking – the traditional Zurich bank admits it openly – has long been a quiet player within Vontobel. It was the emerging economies, especially in Eastern Europe, that generated growth for the bank. Meanwhile, the German market generated headlines.
Last September this changed suddenly. Vontobel’s takeover of Finter Bank Zurich, with subsidiaries in Zurich and Lugano, thrust Vontobel’s ambitions in Swiss private banking into the limelight. And with it Jean-Pierre Stillhart, Head of Private Banking in the Swiss market. Stillhart is also the man who brokered the Finter deal on Vontobel’s side.
Competitive Sportsman with Rothschild Past
However, Stillhart, a former competitive sportsman who moved from Zurich bank Rothschild to Vontobel in autumn 2013, does not want to relax after the Finter deal. «I came on board with the clear goal of building up the Swiss market, and bringing net new money to number one within private banking at Bank Vontobel,» he told finews.ch.
Stillhart claims that his unit is well on the way. «The first half of 2015 showed that we could achieve more than four per cent new money growth in Swiss private banking – more than our most important competitors,» the top banker said. He is proud that his 40-person team of client advisors inside Bank Vontobel has become a growth driver.
Whether Stillhart’s team can keep up the pace will be revealed when the bank’s yearly figures are released Thursday (11 February). These ambitions are coming at a time when it is increasingly difficult for private bankers to make significant headway in Swiss business.
Back-breaking Work Needed
Stillhart admits that times are challenging. «The Swiss domestic market is hard fought – that’s been seen most recently in the prices of products and services,» he adds.
This spurs Stillhart to demand back-breaking work from his team. Gone are the days when you waited for the client to wander into the entrance hall of a Vontobel branch, he says.
«The most important requirement is that the people are out there cultivating their personal network,» Stillhart emphasized. The graft doesn’t stop at the end of the working day: Stillhart’s bankers have to keep up their duties in business clubs, in sport or culture.
«Fieldwork» Instead of Poaching
This «fieldwork» is the fastest way tap into new money, Stillhart believes – and not the poaching of client advisors from other banks. «When client advisors in Switzerland change banks, they don’t bring more than 5 to 6 per cent of the assets under their care with them,» he estimates.
At the same time Stillhart is trying to release the untapped potential within the bank. An example is Vontobel’s in-house research on Swiss shares, a service provided by just a few financial institutions. «We have converted this know-how into an asset-management mandate that concentrates specifically on the Swiss market and has been very well received by clients.»
By using Swissness as a sales driver, the private bank hopes to reach new heights. Stillhart says it loud and clear: «As a former competitive sportsman, I want to be on the podium.»
