Goldman Sachs is seeking growth among Switzerland's ultra-rich. The U.S. giant's plans in the Swiss market amount to an account on domestic rivals.
The U.S. investment bank is serious about Switzerland: it wants to nab at least 30 private bankers in Switzerland as part of a push to win market share off giants like UBS and Credit, Swiss head Stefan Bollinger told «Bloomberg». Along with Chris French, Bollinger runs Goldman's wealth business in Europe.
The New York-based bank is making waves in the alpine nation: quadrupling staff in Geneva, upgrading n Zurich, poaching from Lombard Odier, and eyeing an entree into the Swiss mortgage market. Goldman's hiring ambitions put it at the center of a poaching spree led by Deutsch Bank and Pictet, where ex-Julius Baer boss Boris Collardi is kickstarting growth through hiring.
Goldman's Wealth Shift
Europeans and Asians know Goldman Sachs as the private bank which demurs on clients with less than $10 million. In the U.S., Goldman wants to cater to everyone from mass affluent clients, where wirehouses like Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan dominate, to ultra-high net worth finance, where trust companies rule.
While Goldman's offering isn't remarkable different than that of other wealth managers, the American bank is winning net new money in the region monthy, Bollinger told the news agency. In order to grow faster, Bollinger said Goldman would consider European deals – provided potential targets cater only to the ultra-rich.
