Geneva-based Bank Syz plans to expand the business in several cities, a year after it reorganized the company and despite the crisis prompted by the coronavirus, as CEO Yvan Gaillard told finews.ch in an interview.

Yvan Gaillard, you had a bigger profit in 2019 compared with 2018, but assets under management declined. Why is that?         

The Bank’s annual results for 2019 are not comparable to 2018, as the SYZ Group is now publishing the annual results of the private bank for the first time. In this way, we want to offer our clients greater transparency. The group result will be published at the end of June after the annual general meeting.

What has changed at Syz following last year's reorganization?

As a bank, we will in future focus on four core markets: Switzerland, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Although the bank was founded in Geneva, the roots of the Syz family go back to Zurich. In this respect, it is natural that we now want to expand our business in German-speaking Switzerland.

«Unlike at many other Swiss private banks, Africa is a core market for Bank Syz»

Our presence in this region is further reinforced by having both Marc Syz and Nicolas Syz living in Zurich. The bank still sees enormous, untapped potential, particularly in the German-speaking market. We want to significantly increase staffing levels at all three Swiss locations, Geneva, Zurich, and Ticino, despite the current corona crisis.

Which makes sense. But Africa, by contrast, isn't exactly well known a private-banking market. Why is Africa one of your target markets?

Unlike at many other Swiss private banks, Africa is a core market for Bank Syz. The Syz family has long had close ties with South Africa in particular. Eric Syz knows the region and it is a region with many entrepreneurs and GDP growth is expected to be very strong.

«Net new money development is secondary for us»

We also have an office and a license in Johannesburg. We want to further develop this business potential.

You have closed your bank on the Bahamas last year and sold the business through a management buyout. Are you planning to close the Miami branch as well?

We intend to retain our Miami office to use it as a platform for our business in Latin America, responding to our clients need to have a U.S. presence. At the same time, we will open a representative office in Istanbul soon, especially since we already have Turkish customers.

Other than your rivals, Syz hasn't seen assets under management increase?

Net new money development is secondary for us, as we are not interested in achieving growth at any price. We want to serve clients to whom we can offer added value for which they are also willing to pay. In addition to a strong performance achieved thanks to active investment management, Syz Capital, the group's center of excellence for alternative investments, has recently started to play an important role.

«An important signal for our clients»

This subsidiary, managed by Marc Syz, invests in private equity and other investments with low correlation to the stock market. Clients can already participate with smaller amounts, which is usually not possible with such investments, generally reserved for institutions or UHNWI.

The fact that the Syz family also still have a 5 to 10 percent stake in the respective investments is an important signal for our clients. We invite our clients to invest with us, which is very different to the approach taken by many of our competitors.

Yvan Gaillard has been CEO of Bank Syz since February 2019. Bank Syz is part of Syz Group. Gaillard joined the company in April 2016, having spent a decade working for Pictet, the Geneva-based private bank. He has a masters' degree from EPFL in Lausanne and took several management courses, one of them at Insear business school.