Rothschild's Laurent Gagnebin: «Strong Inflows in Asia This Year»

Rothschild's Laurent Gagnebin: «Strong Inflows in Asia This Year»

Rothschild Private Bank is a latecomer to Asia, but has ambitious growth plans. CEO Laurent Gagnebin tells finews.asia how the Swiss bank is doing, in an exclusive interview.

Laurent Gagnebin wants the Swiss private bank to grow by 15 percent annually in Asia, he told finews.asia shortly after taking the helm.

Rothschild is pouring resources into Asia as the region undergoes a shake-out, with several foreign players selling out to Asian rivals and retreating. Gagnebin spoke exclusively to finews.asia, one year after he unveiled the ambitious growth plans.

Laurent Gagnebin, your results for last year aren't totally compare because of a change in how you report, but it's nevertheless apparent that Rothschild posted outflows.

Yes, our financial year is just nine months this year because the entire Rothschild and Co group will use calendar year for financial year. We had a very good year overall, but we did have two major clients redirect their wealth management. We would have had inflows were it not for this one-time unique situation.

How was 2017 overall for Rothschild Private Bank? 

We're very pleased with the result, because our gross margin rose by 26 percent on a comparable basis and our net profit by 60 percent. This is thanks not least to our discipline with spending. We also recorded excellent investment performance and broadened our offering with a new advisory service and investment model. 

Clients especially appreciated that our advice is independent and free of conflict as well as the fact that advisers have a lot of time for them. On average, our private bankers take care of roughly 30 clients each.