Private Banks

Sustainability will be the starting point for Quintet’s discretionary mandates, says James Purcell (photo), the new head of sustainable management at Quintet Group, in an interview with Investment Officer.

European banks are focusing their innovation efforts on customer experience, a study by PwC Luxembourg has found. Though the study was conducted before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, PwC’s Banking Industry Leader Roxane Haas believes Covid-19 will lead to a further acceleration of innovation in the field.

Private banks in Europe saw their profits decline in 2019, for the second year in a row, according to a study by McKinsey. Profitability is under pressure due to a combination of rising costs and lack of client growth.

According to the management consultancy, the study shows that private banks in Europe are confronted with structurally weak profit dynamics, growing dissatisfaction among clients and significant operational problems due to working from home.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has moved its European headquarters from London to Luxembourg following Brexit.

The income of Degroof Petercam Luxembourg’s private banking division has not been dented by the coronavirus crisis. To the contrary, results have been ‘above expectations’ thanks to a sharp increase in trading revenue, says its head Kris De Souter in an interview with Investment Officer.

Quintet Private Bank is planning to merge its European subsidiaries into one business unit based in Luxembourg. Approval has been requested from local supervisory authorities.

Contrary to the predictions of some that the pandemic will see a pull-back from globalisation, Jurgen Vanhoenacker, who heads the Sales and Wealth Structuring teams at Lombard International Assurance in Luxembourg, sees no signs of a reduced appetite for clients to live cross-border lives.

Luxembourg-based Quintet Private Bank  has opened a branch in Zurich, Switzerland. The opening follows the acquisition of the local Bank am Bellevue, the asset management arm of Bellevue Group AG, and the approval of the transaction by the regulatory authorities.

Equities – down. Fixed income – down. Precious metals – down. Commodities – down. These have been a strange, potentially frightening few weeks for all investors, including private bankers.

A Netflix-like environment that provides access to advice that is data-driven, personalized, continuous and preferrably subscription-based, is the future of wealth advice according to McKinsey.