Swiss private banking had a great 2017. And still, the industry wants more support from the government as it bids to retain its position as the world leader in cross-border asset management.

Despite the odds, Swiss private banking is doing very well as was proven by the excellent results of Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) published today. The Geneva-based bank said its net rose by a quarter.

Boris Collardi, who recently left his job as CEO of Julius Baer in favor of a position as partner at larger rival Pictet, agreed that the industry had a good year. He spoke at the annual media conference of the private banking industry in Bern.

Consolidation Called Off?

With assets under management and profit up at most member companies, it is less likely that they will be forced to seek mergers or acquisitions in 2018. «We are closer to the end of the consolidation cycle than at the beginning,» Collardi said. «The bigger part is behind us.»

Swiss wealth managers retained their rank as world leader in cross-border asset management. They manage about a quarter of the $10 trillion assets held abroad worldwide. A business that is worth its while: the management of assets of EU-based customers held in Switzerland generated taxes worth 1.5 billion Swiss francs a year, Collardi said.

More Support From Regulator

So all seems fine at the moment. And despite their confidence about the future of the industry, the representatives of the private banks remained in complaining mode. 

In his keynote speech, Yves Mirabaud, the president of the Association of Swiss Private Banks, criticized the banking regulator for having done too little to alleviate the plight of smaller banks from the regulation tsunami of recent years: «The regulator all too often refrains from using the scope it has to apply a differentiated approach according to the business models of banks and their real risks.»

Legally Safe or Morally Acceptable

Mirabaud also prompted some raised eyebrows when he complained that the public didn’t distinguish between what was legally safe to do and what morally acceptable. «It is not the role of the banks to treat everything as illegal that society sees as amoral.»

Following a decade of legal tussles with the U.S., Germany, France and other jurisdictions, disputes that led to the payment of billions of francs, Swiss banking may not be best advised to publicly defend its role in helping rich people hide their assets by claiming the legal highground.