Private Banks

Luxembourg-based private bank Quintet this year plans to eliminate 165 jobs, or 9 percent of its 2,000-strong workforce in six European countries as it attempts to become a more efficient organisation.

Swiss private bank Union Bancaire Privée, or UBP, has developed a partnership with New York-based Brigade Capital Management to expand its offering of credit-focused investment products. A new fund, U Access (IRL) Brigade Credit Long Short Ucits, launched in September and has close to 100 millions dollars under management.

Intesa Sanpaolo Wealth Management has been created as a new Luxembourg private banking hub following the merger of its troubled Luxembourg unit Fideuram Bank Luxembourg with Compagnie de Banque Privée Quilvest SA, which it took over last year.

European Depositary Bank, a Luxembourg-based provider of banking, depositary and custody solutions that is part of the Apex Group, on Monday said it has been appointed by Arab Bank to support its real-estate ambitions in the European, Middle East and Africa  region (Emea) with digital banking services.

EDB said it has been selected to provide services for 32 bank accounts for 14 special purpose vehicles as part of Arab Bank’s 400 million euro pan-European real estate strategy.

Luxembourg-based global private bank Quintet has reshuffled the top leadership of its branches in Luxembourg and Germany following a series of departures of senior executives at the end of last year that included CEO Europe Thomas Rodermann. Rodermann, one of the former UBS executives that had joined the bank in recent years, was seen as the architect of the integration of the private bank’s German, Dutch and Belgian businesses into a single business unit. A successor will not be appointed, Quintet said.

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A fortnight ago, Dutch private bank InsingerGilissen sold a pack of high yield bonds to increase its holdings in investment grade bonds. The bank does not rule out that it will do so again in early 2023. “If you expect risks, there will be a storm in the high yield segment as well,” chief investment officer Gerwin Wijnia told InvestmentOfficer.nl.

Quintet sees little cause for celebration when the world rings in the new year, the Luxembourg private bank said in its 2023 outlook. The year ahead will be one of two halves: once central banks stop raising interest rates, a new cycle of uneven, global growth will begin. High-dividend and low-volatility equities may provide an opportunity to reduce portfolio risk, the firm’s investment officers said.

Private market investments have become overweight in institutional portfolios following this year’s substantial declines in public markets. Half of investors are waiting “as long as necessary” for this dislocation to subside. The other half is concerned, a new survey by Bfinance shows. The report is of particular interest to Luxembourg, where interest in private assets and alternative investments has increased significantly in recent years.

Driven by new technologies, consumer expectations and risks, banks are increasingly forced to think and act differently, The boldness with which they embrace change in the time ahead will determine which scenario unfolds between now and 2035. “Massive changes are on the horizon.”

Private banks in Luxembourg, especially the smaller ones, are struggling as their margins are squeezed while weak financial markets have not made business any easier this year, it became clear at a press presentation on Friday afternoon, held at the offices of Luxembourg’s bankers’ association ABBL, which presented the results of a new survey. “The important thing is critical mass.”