Page 2 of 2

Another one to disappear in 2018 was Mourgue d'Algue, the story of which dates back to 1869. The company in July merged with Geneva rival Gonet. Though presented as a merger among equals, in truth it was the Gonet bankers that received the top jobs at the new Gonet, a bank with 150 staff and 5 billion francs in assets under management.

A similar pattern emerged in the November merger between Banque Héritage and Sallfort Privatbank. A merger of equals it was called but the firm will carry the name of Banque Héritage and Heritage people will take the leading positions. The new bank has 6 billion francs in assets under management.

Investors From Bahrain and Superrich Entrepreneurs

The founders of Banque Pâris Bertrand Sturdza retained their position. In September, they bought their shares back from Eric Sturzda Group and changed the name of the bank into Banque Pâris Bertrand. They also got a new minority shareholder in the Bank Investcorp based in Bahrain.

Michael Pieper and Adrian Keller also did a buyout, together with Andreas Jacobs. The three investors together acquired the Swiss business of the world's second-oldest bank, Hamburg's Bank Berenberg. The new Bergos Berenberg will focus on rich entrepreneurs in Switzerland and Germany.

Berenberg 500

More Deals to Follow

In two transactions, banks simply bought and sold client assets. Schroder & Co Bank in July sold the Eastern European private banking business to Bank CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique in Geneva. And in October, Vontobel made another acquisition: the Zurich bankers bought the U.S. client book of Lombard Odier and became the second-largest Swiss-based provider of offshore-banking for U.S. clients after UBS.

With increased volatility on the markets in recent months, clients have removed their assets and banks will feel the squeeze both from lower fees as well as new money. As volume growth in private banking to a significant degree is linked to the bull market, growth is likely to become a major concern for the industry. It is very likely therefore that more merger and acquisition activity will follow in 2019.