Union Bancaire Privée (UBP SA) was founded in 1969 by Edgar de Picciotto. It is one of the most highly capitalized private banks, and a major player in the field of wealth management in Switzerland with CHF 125.3 billion of assets under management.
UBP is a full-scale wealth-management bank for private and institutional clients. The bank is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has 1,697 employees.
Video Union Bancaire Privée
History
Edgar de Picciotto established the Compagnie de Banque et d'Investissements (CBI) in Geneva on 11 November 1969. CBI acquired TDB-American Express Bank in 1990, which led to the creation of the current entity, Union Bancaire Privée. UBP developed further with the takeover of the Discount Bank and Trust Company in 2002.
In 2011, UBP acquired the Swiss arm of Dutch state-owned ABN Amro Bank, a pure Swiss private bank. The same year, UBP also broadened its operations in Asia by establishing two joint ventures in Hong Kong and Taiwan with TransGlobe. In 2012, UBP acquired Paris-based fund of hedge funds Nexar Capital Group, which has offices in London, Jersey and New York.
In May 2013, UBP announced the acquisition of Lloyds Banking Group's International Private Banking business.
On 26 March 2015, UBP signed an agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) to buy the international private banking activities of RBS's subsidiary, Coutts & Co International. These assets meant that UBP assumed control of their entities in Switzerland, Monaco and the Middle East.
In May 2016 UBP announced it signed an agreement with SEB, a Nordic financial services group, enabling UBP to distribute SEB's Luxembourg fund range to institutional clients and third-party distributors.
In January 2017, UBP announced a partnership with Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager.
Maps Union Bancaire Privée
Corporate affairs
Private banking
Union Bancaire Privée has over 300 private wealth managers in different countries and offers various management mandates and types of advice.
Wealth planning
UBP has built a team of experts that are specialized geographically in order to offer a global approach to wealth structuring. The team supports and steers clients towards appropriate wealth structuring strategies. As no structures are sold in-house, the team co-operates with an international network of specialists.
With the services of FOSS Family Office Services Switzerland (FOSS), UBP offers a multi-family office intermediary service. FOSS helps wealthy families in their search for and selection of a multi-family office in Switzerland.
Asset management
UBP is a full-scale asset manager, providing a large range of investments specifically geared towards its institutional clients' needs. The bank offers a wide range of capabilities in asset allocation, equities, bonds, diversification strategies and alternative fund of funds.
Alternative investments
UBP has been active in the alternative investment industry since the 1970s. Over the years, it has built up a strong hedge fund advisory service and runs several pooled funds and personalized mandates. With the acquisition of Nexar in 2012, UBP demonstrated its "ongoing commitment" to the alternative industry.
In April 2013, UBP announced a partnership with Guggenheim Fund Solutions (GFS), which is specialized in managed accounts within the full spectrum of hedge fund strategies. Together, they launched a new hedge fund platform.
Sales and trading
UBP services include: advisory, structured products, equity trading and brokerage, equity arbitrage, currency and precious metal trading, forwards and derivatives, treasury management and bond trading. UBP has over 40 specialist traders working with private wealth managers.
Investment philosophy
Every year, UBP publishes an annual outlook with an overview of macroeconomic events that occurred during the past year and its investment convictions for the year to come.
Financials
As of the end of December 2017, UBP's balance sheet total reached CHF 32 billion. By pursuing a conservative approach to risk-management, UBP has maintained a solid financial base and a strong balance sheet with a high level of liquidity. With a Tier 1 capital ratio of 27.4% (as of 31 December 2017), UBP is one of the best-capitalized banks in Switzerland.
Settlement with Investment Securities Trustee
Despite being a victim of Bernard Madoff's fraud, the bank offered in March 2009 to compensate eligible investors 50 percent of the money they initially invested with Madoff.
On 6 December 2010, UBP announced it had reached a settlement with the Trustee when it agreed to pay $500 million. UBP was the first bank to settle the trustee's claim in the case of Madoff. With this settlement, the Trustee has agreed to discharge his "clawback" claims against UBP, its affiliates and clients.
See also
- List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Securities
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia