Despite economic headwinds last year, the young MBaer Merchant Bank managed to break even, making it one of the fastest-growing financial institutions in Switzerland.
Zurich-based MBaer Merchant Bank turned a profit for the first time last year, according to its 2022 annual report, which was made available to finews.com. After a loss of 2.7 million Swiss francs ($3 million) in 2021, it booked a positive result of 3.9 million last year. The CEO of the eponymous bank, Michael «Mike» Baer, told finews.com the bank managed positive results despite challenges from the Ukraine war, inflation, and high energy prices.
The Baer name certainly rings a bell to anyone familiar with banking in Zurich. He is descended from the city's best-known banking dynasty and is a great-grandson of Julius Baer.
MBaer Merchant Bank was founded in 2018. It is hard to think of a worse time to start a company as the Corona pandemic soon followed. The bank was able to gradually pick itself up and embark on the successful course that began in the final months of 2021 when it broke even for the first time.
Professional Credo
In addition to traditional wealth management for private clients, the bank also offers custody, transaction banking, and treasury services. Its clients are predominantly made up of Swiss as well as domestic-based entrepreneurs and wealthy families, which is something of a professional credo for Baer who views finance as being more than traditional asset management through innovation.
Revenues rose to 22.3 million francs in 2022 from 9.7 million francs the previous year. This was offset by costs of 16.8 million francs, up from 11.6 million francs twelve months earlier. The bank nearly doubled the number of accounts from 550 to 939. Headcount also grew to 48 staff in 2022 from 32 the year before, translating into 37 full-time equivalent positions.
Those numbers make the company one of the fastest-growing financial institutions in Switzerland. In March of last year, MBaer Bank moved into new, larger offices in Zurich-Enge. The only negative result in the bank's figures is the drop in client assets, which fell from four billion francs to 3.1 billion, mainly due to the poor performance of the financial markets last year.
What Matters in Banking
Entrepreneur and bank founder Michael «Mike» Baer (Photo: Markus Mallaun)
The 61-year-old Baer is undoubtedly one of the most unconventional bankers in Switzerland because he doesn't confine his job to just making money. «We are actively involved in all aspects of our customer's lives. Most importantly, we treat our customers with the respect they deserve,» he says, summing up his conviction.
«We make a difference in our customers' lives by solving their problems. We are their partners, and we build long-term relationships. That's what banking is all about,» he adds.
Vacations à Discretion
His attitude is also expressed in the commitments with which the bank supports a wide variety of interest groups and organizations. Since the summer of 2021, MBear has sponsored the most successful women's soccer team in Switzerland, Football Club Zurich (FCZ). The company also supported the «Swiss Raw» rowers, who took part in the world's toughest rowing regatta, the «Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge».
Meanwhile, the announcement that MBaer Merchant Bank employees could decide for themselves how much vacation they wanted to take attracted particular attention. «The arrangement is based on a great deal of personal responsibility. Dialog with each other is central to this,» Bear emphasizes.
