A Tight Alignment Of Interests Holds Key For Union Bancaire Privee

éNicolas de Picciotto Market Head Switzerland & Western Europe Union Bancaire Privée

UBP is one of Switzerland’s leading private banks with over SFr140 billion worth of assets under management as at 31 December 2022. It ranks among the best-capitalised banks with a tier 1 ratio of 26.7 per cent and a long-term deposit rating from Moody’s of Aa2 with a stable outlook.

What are the main contributions you think you bring to the wealth management industry?

In its fifty-year history, not only has UBP maintained its independence, it has also achieved remarkable growth. Beyond the investment expertise and flexible integrated model that make us an ideal banking partner, clients can rely on UBP to remain by their side for the long term.

Being a family-owned bank, we can guarantee that our clients benefit from an alignment of vision and uncompromising management. UBP remains headquartered in Geneva but spans the globe. Spread over twenty locations in the world's key economic and financial hubs, the bank's 2,000 employees embody multiple nationalities and cultures.

Can you sum up the philosophy that defines your firm the best?

UBP’s vision from the outset has been to offer investors with an entrepreneurial mindset, a high-quality, innovative wealth and asset management service based on a fully integrated business model. A personal wealth journey is guided by individual requirements. We recognise our clients as sophisticated investors, and have built up the expertise to analyse every request, to identify our clients’ needs, and to source or even create the best solutions for each of them. Risk management is part of our DNA and capital preservation is our primary goal.

Please explain what you think makes your firm successful in its chosen field?

Thanks to UBP’s size and structure, we make decisions quickly and are very flexible in developing truly tailored solutions, seizing investment opportunities when they arise in the markets.

Three key strengths make UBP stand out when addressing our clients’ needs:

1) Innovative and expert investment management – our financial expertise is proven. Our pioneering convictions have made us a reference in the field of alternative investments and sophisticated financial products, while our asset management services enable our private clients to access products and services that are generally only made available to institutional investors;

2) Outstanding wealth planning expertise – our approach is holistic, taking into consideration our clients’ global wealth, within UBP and outside, as well as other constraints and requirements. Having wealth planners dedicated to Swiss clients or clients looking to move to Switzerland is essential; and

3) Unique credit structuring capabilities – credit structuring is a highly valuable service for high net worth and ultra-HNW clients. UBP stands out by offering a wide range of credit solutions, including mortgages in Switzerland and abroad.

What position would you like your firm to hold in its sector in five years’ time?

Today, UBP stands among the leaders in the field of wealth management in Switzerland and is among the top four non-listed family-owned private banks in the world.