«You cannot seriously operate in Switzerland without having a presence in Zurich,» Thierry de Groote tells finews.

That is why Delen Suisse will officially open an office at Rämistrasse 16, near Bellevue, on September 3, as finews reported. It will be the firm’s second location in Switzerland after Geneva.

Delen Private Bank took its time with the expansion. Founded in 1936, the Belgian financial institution has been active in Switzerland since 1996.

Developments in recent years, however, made the decision easier. Business with clients from the Zurich region has grown strongly, says de Groote, who has headed Delen Suisse since 2017. The bank has also received specific requests from both existing and prospective clients for a local presence.

A Ten-Year Horizon

Delen is taking a decidedly long-term view of the move. «As a family institution, when we make these decisions, we don’t aim for a business plan of two or three years. It’s a ten-year plan,» de Groote, who has headed Delen Suisse since 2017, told finews.

The Zurich office initially starts with three employees, with the team potentially growing to around ten over time.

But headcount is not the metric that matters most to de Groote. His ambition is to turn Delen Suisse into a multibillion asset manager over the next decade.

And organic growth is only part of the strategy.

Looking for Swiss Acquisition Opportunities

De Groote makes no secret of his interest in Swiss financial institutions and independent asset managers that could eventually join Delen.

Many smaller wealth managers face rising costs, difficulties achieving scale and an increasingly challenging environment for winning new clients, he argues.

«We would be very happy to convince Swiss financial institutions, whether banks or high-quality independent asset managers, to join us,» he said.

What Delen is looking for in such transactions is particularly noteworthy. The primary objective is not simply to acquire assets under management.

«What we are really looking for when taking over institutions is that management teams and clients are of equal importance. The clients are a bonus,» de Groote said.

The Netherlands provides something of a blueprint. Delen has expanded there through several acquisitions, integrating both teams and clients into its platform. De Groote believes a similar approach could work in Switzerland over the longer term.

A Private Banking «Hidden Gem»

Despite its size, Delen remains relatively little known outside its core markets. The group managed 84.1 billion euros as of 30 June 2026 and employed more than 1,200 people. In addition to Belgium and Switzerland, it operates in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

De Groote describes the bank as a «hidden gem» in European private banking. Most of its expansion over the past three decades has come organically and from market growth, while acquisitions have accounted for a smaller share.

That model is also visible in Switzerland. According to de Groote, roughly 70 percent of annual growth comes from existing clients adding assets and from client referrals.

A Deliberately Narrow Offering

Delen’s proposition stands out in a Swiss private banking market where many institutions seek to offer an increasingly broad range of products and services.

The bank deliberately focuses on two core activities: discretionary asset management and estate planning. It does not target institutional clients, does not seek to become a custodian for independent asset managers and has no ambition to offer every conceivable banking product.

Its target clients are private individuals and families. There is no strict minimum investment threshold, according to de Groote, while the average Swiss client holds approximately 3 million to 4 million Swiss francs with the firm.

Technology is a central part of the model. Delen largely develops its own IT infrastructure, allowing clients to obtain a consolidated view not only of their investment portfolios but also of real estate, private holdings and family structures.

The purpose is not technology for technology’s sake. It is designed to free private bankers from administrative and investment-related tasks and give them more time with clients.

Fewer Sales Targets, More Client Contact

That philosophy also influences how Delen manages its relationship managers.

Rather than focusing primarily on traditional metrics such as net new money, revenues or product sales, the bank tracks indicators such as how frequently bankers meet their clients, how often estate-planning specialists are involved and the overall intensity of the client relationship.

For de Groote, this reflects a broader shift in what wealthy families expect from their private bank.

«The important questions are the transfer of wealth within families, estate planning, your will, your retirement,» he said.

The opening of the Zurich office therefore represents considerably more than an additional address for Delen. It is the starting point for the Belgian wealth manager’s next phase of expansion in Switzerland – organically, but potentially through acquisitions as well.