Swiss bank Lombard Odier joins Pictet to lift the lid on corporate stats
Swiss bank Lombard Odier broke with two centuries of tradition yesterday to publish its first ever set of corporate results, the second secretive Swiss bank to do so this week.
The Geneva-based outfit, which was founded in 1796 and is the oldest lender in the country, has been forced to publish results due to a change in its ownership structure.
Larger rival Pictet, founded in 1805, also published its first ever results on Tuesday, also due to a change in the ownership of the bank.
Lombard Odier results – which ran to just 417 words – revealed that net profit for the six months ending June was SFr62.5m. It did not did reveal a comparative figure for the same period last year.
The group’s core capital – which measures how much capital a bank has set aside as a buffer if tough times hit – was 23.8 per cent, almost double the 12 per cent required by Swiss regulators.
“These results are in line with our expectations and reflect both the investments we make towards our strategic objectives as well as the conservative use of our balance sheet,” senior managing partner Patrick Odier (pictured) said.
“Our group is increasingly diversified, more international and more balanced between private and asset management clients and we are expanding our partnerships with financial services providers.”
Lombard Odier is Switzerland’s fifth biggest bank behind leaders UBS, Credit Suisse, Pictet, and Julius Baer.
The bank has three divisions: an asset management unit, banking services for its well-heeled clients and a technology business offering services to other banks.
The company yesterday said it now manages CHF 211bn in total, comprised of SFr47.8bn for institutional clients, SFr114.7bn portion for wealthy private clients and SFr48.5bn in its technology division.