Amidst pressure on fees, high costs, and a less exclusive clientele, many banks have struggled to turn a profit in neighboring countries. UBS, Switzerland’s number one bank, has been grappling with special costs in the market until recent years.
The St. Gallen Cantonal Bank is making waves by recruiting bankers in Munich, following the attention garnered by Liechtenstein banks with their expansion in the neighboring country. Germany serves as a significant growth market for the state institution. Over the past eleven months, the St. Gallen Cantonal Bank (SGKB) has appointed no less than six new employees in Germany, as revealed in a recent announcement. The Munich branch of the state institution has now appointed three customer advisors.
Among these, Markus Wieder, formerly of the German Dresdner Bank, has joined as a senior customer advisor. He was previously responsible for the group management of customer advisors in wealth management. Johannes Roppelt, the new customer advisor, previously worked at Sparkasse Nürnberg as a private customer advisor and as an individual customer and investment advisor. He now supports the private banking team in Munich. Additionally, Ferhat Polat, formerly a branch manager of the Munich Bank, has joined as a customer advisor.
The subsidiary St. Gallen Cantonal Bank Germany was founded in 2009 and now maintains two locations in Munich and Frankfurt. The German subsidiary employs no less than 70 employees and manages a total of 2.4 billion francs. Germany is traditionally the most important foreign growth market for SGKB, and the expansion of the branch will further develop this area.
SGKB is not the only state bank interested in Germany’s wealthy. The Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) began acquiring customers in the northern neighboring country last summer. However, ZKB is operating in the market without branches.
Banks from Liechtenstein are also expanding and gaining a foothold in Germany. In recent weeks, the private bank LGT and the Liechtenstein Landesbank (LLB) have announced and already opened new locations in Germany. LGT is now represented at four locations in Germany and the LLB at three locations. The Liechtenstein banks have an ace up their sleeve. They benefit from simultaneous membership in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the currency and customs union with Switzerland, giving them a favorable market position.
The expansion of Liechtenstein players and Swiss state banks appears as a second wave, after local major and private banks have been active in Germany for decades.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | Europe |
| Countries | 🇩🇪 🇱🇮 🇨🇭 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Ferhat Polat, Markus Wieder, Johannes Roppelt |
| Companies | Münchner Bank, Dresdner Bank, St.Galler Kantonalbank, Zürcher Kantonal Bank, Sparkasse Nürnberg, Privatbank LGT, Liechtensteinische Landesbank |
| Currencies | Swiss Franc |
| Securities | None |
