Bank of America (BofA) clients in Switzerland include various global multinationals, such as food company Nestlé and cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International. But it doesn’t want to restrict itself to these. The bank has growth plans and believes conditions are right for economic activity to recover again.

«We’re here to stay, and we want to be a top player in Switzerland,» country executive for Switzerland Thorsten Pauli commented at an event with media representatives in Zurich. He took over the management of the Swiss subsidiary several months ago from Manuel Ebner – nephew of financier Martin Ebner – who had stepped down after around 13 years.

Team Expanding

The Swiss teams in corporate banking under Brooke Wachtel and for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) under Head of Investment Banking Vincent Thiebaud are set to grow. Pauli noted that the number of employees in Switzerland has risen in the past 20 months. «Of course, we want to further expand the customer base in Switzerland,» Pauli said. «We bring international qualities to the table and can offer a one-stop shop for all services.»

According to Pauli, the prospects for a revival of business are good, despite uncertainties. The bank is expecting a decrease in inflation and an economic slowdown in 2024. He believes that this will cause central banks to lower interest rates again, but that the time frame in which this will happen is still uncertain.

Need for Financing

Pauli commented that the refinancing of companies, or partial spin-offs in connection with restructurings, are important topics. He therefore expects growth in the areas of loans and bond issues in corporate banking.

«When it comes to the M&A business, we’re currently still clearly in a buyer’s market,» Pauli said. «I’ve rarely seen such a difficult market for IPOs, and I’m more optimistic for 2024.»

Companies Review Banking Relationships

The industry is expecting many companies to reevaluate their banking relationships in the next few months. UBS’s acquisition of Credit Suisse plays a key role here too. Counterparty risk, cluster risk, and diversification will be a factor in the reevaluation. Citi (Switzerland), for example, also recently said that the changes in the market mean that there is more room for competitors.