Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick, which specializes in crypto banking, has almost doubled the size of its staff in the past three years. A further significant gain in employees is planned for the current year.
Founded in 1998 and based in Balzers, Bank Frick has raised its employee base from 42 to 81 in the past three years, and plans a significant expansion in staff this year to handle its key crypto currency investment business.
The plan is to expand the staff base to 120 persons by the end of 2018, the bank said at the presentation of its annual result on Tuesday.
A key driver for the increase in the staff at the bank, led since 2014 by Edi Woegerer, is the ongoing strong demand for its services and products. Extra staff will also be needed to tackle tighter regulatory requirements, it said.
Strengthening Crypto Model
Bank Frick, which claims to be a leading player in the blockchain technology area, and the and the solutions derived therefrom, also offers financial intermediaries the possibility of investing in crypto assets.
The bank this year plans to acquire further client relationships in the crypto sector as a means of boosting net new money inflows. The bank’s managed assets surged 50 percent in the reporting year to 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.6 billion), with net new inflows contributing 350 million francs, and pushing net income up to 6.3 million francs, from 3.2 million francs, it said.
Bank Frick will be utilizing the expertise of American alternative payments system company Net1 to help it expand its product offering in the crypto sector. Net1 now holds a 35 percent stake in Bank Frick.
Securing Competitiveness
Crypto currencies is a controversial issue in the financial industry, with some Swiss banks avoiding all dealings in crypto currencies like bitcoin or ether, and refusing crypto-startups access to business accounts. Many of these start-up companies are now turning to Bank Frick, as finews.com has previously reported.
One reason for the caution, is the reputation risk associated with crypto currencies. Bank Frick however stresses it is aware of the calculable risks tied to crypto business models, and which are needed to remain competitive in the future, it said.
Bank Frick notes in the current annual report that there still isn’t universal acceptance for the crypto business models. «We cannot exclude setbacks in the implementation of our plans. Our early entry into these business models will however prove profitable in the long-, rather than short-term», the bank said.
