As head of Oddo BHF in Switzerland, Erich Pfister has steep growth targets. He tells finews.com why he is optimistic for the Franco-German lender's prospects.
Erich Pfister, you joined Oddo BHF in Switzerland roughly one year ago in order to boost wealth management. Oddo BHF isn't exactly a «signature brand» of Swiss banking.
You're right, Oddo BHF came into being in 2016 through a merger. BHF's Swiss bank had been in Zurich for a long time, but had a larger presence in Germany because of the focus on those clients. And Oddo was mainly known in Switzerland as an asset manager.
Your job is to build up Switzerland as a third pillar in wealth management, after France and Germany. How long has main shareholder Philippe Oddo given you to do so?
I've pledged to put the bank onto a solid foundation by the end of next year.
Where do you stand now?
The targets are very ambitious, but we're well within our business plan. The hire of a five-person team from DZ Bank in Switzerland helped us enormously: they are extremely experienced private bankers who know the German market very well and are doing a great job for us.
«We're not starting from zero»
But to be clear: our Swiss business contributes a marginal contribution to Oddo BHF's overall assets. I want to change that.
It almost looks like a kamikaze mission: you have to produce a private bank out of thin air, against the backdrop of a Swiss industry which is barely growing.
We're not starting from zero: we employ 50 people and have an admittedly small but loyal and long-standing clientele, mostly from Germany but also Swiss clients with ties to Germany as well as some Scandinavian clients.
How much in assets are you booking in Switzerland?
We don't disclose that, but our current business case is based on revenue growth, not cost-cutting. Ultimately, we can only do that with strong growth in client assets. That's why our goal is to double our number of private bankers to roughly 20.
What distinguishes Oddo BHF's offering from the more than one hundred other Swiss private banks?
Our strategy is based on three main principles: security, services, and performance. Oddo BHF as a group is run by its owners. The Oddo family controls more than 60 percent of our stock. Philippe Oddo is the poster child for our bank, which is focused on entrepreneurs as clients. The group's staff owns 30 percent.
«The desire among Germany's rich for safety is rising»
With 866 million euros and a core capital ratio of 16.6 percent, the bank is very solidly capitalized. We have an excellent product offering thanks to our asset management arm, focusing on European funds.
The wealth management division distinguishes itself with a long track record of good portfolio management, and we have deep relationships with German and French company clients thanks to our corporate and markets division. I would argue that we can offer German clients the best overall solutions.
But Oddo BHF has 13 branches in Germany alone. Why would German clientele travel to Switzerland for their banking?
The desire for safety among Germany's wealthy is rising. Brexit is prompting fiscal concerns, American politics are unpredictable, and Germany's economy is highly reliant on the automaking industry – diversifying into Swiss francs is a good idea.
The rich want more than good portfolio management. They also want access to exclusive deals.
That's part of our offering: we provide so-called club deals in private markets and real estate. That means we invest together with our clients in property or private equity. This harmonization of interests is something our clients value enormously.
«No conflict between bank and family office»
Because we're lean and create most solutions in-house, we're pretty quick getting services to the market. This is also a decisive factor.
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