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I wonder if this approach is always in the interest of the client. Or if it isn’t rather in the interest of the bank, to sell the most products from the various segments. Our niche is to be free of conflicts of interests. We only sell products that we produced by customer demand.

«Our main attraction is the holistic advisory approach»

I’m convinced this to be a successful approach. Also seen on the background that entrepreneurs are the main shareholders of the bank.

It has become very difficult to grow in the Swiss private-banking market. Will the new shareholders be used as beacons to attract clients?

In taking stakes in the new bank, the shareholders Pieper and Keller have shown that they believe in our approach and in the development of the bank. That would be their role as beacons, if you so wish. The main attraction of Berenberg Switzerland is the holistic advisory approach.

After a change of ownership, there often comes the restructuring or savings program. Which are the next steps at Bergos Berenberg?

We didn’t get new owners because we are a restructuring candidate. The next steps are for the new owners to get to know the staff and the bank. Other than that, everything will continue as before. Our strategy is long-term.

It has been said that the bank wants to better establish its business in Switzerland, Germany and internationally.

This maybe the only strategic adjustment: with the new ownership and the shareholders, dominated as they are by Swiss – I have also become a Swiss citizen a couple of years ago – we now want to focus more on the Swiss market. We believe to have become more attractive for clients and staff from Switzerland alike.

Did you find it hard to find good Swiss employees before?

Yes, that’s the handicap of a foreign bank in Switzerland. For qualified staff in Switzerland the risk is often too high, because often the change of a strategy by the parent company leads to a sale or closure.

That means you are actively looking for relationship managers?

We work opportunistically. We don’t have a written target of hiring 25 private banks by the end of the year or to grow by 15 percent. We want people who are a good fit with us and with our culture. We take extremely much time to select the right candidates.

In Swiss private banking there are good opportunities for acquisitions. You sure have the firepower for takeovers?

We will continue to grow organically. We only invest in staff and perhaps teams. With a reason. Berenberg always has always followed that path and is successful because the management is involved in the business. This is a condition. We therefore don’t have the overhead necessary to integrate a takeover candidate.

Peter Raskin this week has become the co-owner of Bergos Berenberg Privatbank, the former Berenberg Bank (Switzerland). He was the CEO of the company since 2009 and was responsible for Berenberg’s private banking. The lawyer and banker started at BHF Bank Switzerland in 2000, where he rose through the ranks to join the executive board.