The Zurich-based institution, with assets worth USD 8.2 billion, decided to rejuvenate its business.

Stephen Zwahlen, CEO of Maerki Baumann, said that the bank has an “ambition to be the go-to private bank in the Swiss crypto arena”. He stressed that banking support for this emerging sector is still problematic in the country. 

Maerki Baumann’s initial focus, approved by its Board of Directors in March, will offer business accounts and consultancy for startups launching security token offers. In early 2020, the company is planning to focus on establishing partnerships with crypto specialists to outsource services in the field of storage and trading with bitcoin and other digital assets.

The third phase of their planned activities with cryptocurrencies will involve the provision of consultancy and asset management services for private banking clients who want to invest into new crypto assets, e.g. into tokenized shares. Zwahlen predicts great demand for this new area: “I would expect over time that digital assets such as crypto/blockchain might even take on a greater significance than our traditional private banking business, particularly in terms of asset growth.” 

In an interview with Swiss Info, Stephen Zwahlen further said that launching a crypto business pointed to a dramatic reversal and added that: “In our traditional business, we usually have to run after each client. It’s rather rare for clients to just knock on our door. And now we suddenly had 400 people wanting to talk with us. And they were exactly the kind people we had been struggling to access for 10 years. They were typically between 30 to 40 years old, very well educated and with an entrepreneurial mindset.