KBL is bidding to build a pan-European wealth manager. First, one of the most prestigious names in its stable needs fixing.
Juerg Zeltner (pictured below) is trying make a Pictet-style partnership out of a stable of eight KBL-owned private banks he leads as a CEO, as finews.com reported last week. With ex-Credit Suisse executive Dagmar Kamber Borens, KBL is also trying to build a Swiss division, based on Bank am Bellevue, the small private bank it recently acquired.
Before UBS’ former top private banker gets going with the implementation of his grand vision, he has a pressing issue at one of its most prestigious brands to deal with.
Loss at Crown Jewel
Merck Finck, a 149-year-old German private bank, swung to a net loss last year. Ex-UBS banker Matthias Schellenberg is nearing the end of his third year running the Munich-based wealth manager and progress has been slow to say the least.
The bank slumped to a loss of more than 10 million euros ($11 million) last year as spending climbed while revenue fell. Its assets under management dropped to 8.5 billion euros, well below the 10.6 billion euros it had budgeted.
Missing Targets on Every Level
The small German firm is emblematic of the problem Zeltner faces in seeking to emulate Pictet, a 214-year-old Genevan wealth manager. KBL has managed the banks it owns at arm’s length – something which has not always served either owner nor subsidiary very well.
Merck Finck missed its budget on almost every level: revenue, spending, operating profit. The bank even liquidated some legal reserves to smooth profits, but it also needed its Qatari-owned parent to pump 15.8 million euros of what it termed «extra revenue» into Merck Finck. A previous target of doubling its managed assets was quietly dropped.
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