The Genevan wealth manager is confident it did nothing wrong in a scandal involving the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, and a mysterious $100 million payment, partner Lionel Aeschlimann told finews.asia.
Lionel Aeschlimann, Mirabaud had a 1.9 million franc write-down in the first half. What for?
It's a provision we took in connection with a specific operation for one client on our credit book and also in the context of the extremely uncertain situation of the Covid. The bad news is that we passed a part of this provision, the good news is that it's the only negative impact we've had during this whole crisis: no operational accidents, no leverage on client portfolio, no losses of value or anything at all.
You also reported inflows. How much?
What I can tell you is that it's in excess of 500 million francs– close to 700 million, primarily in wealth management. We were pleasantly surprised to see existing clients bring more money to us during this exceptional time, as well as new private clients.
What’s your explanation?
I suspect some clients were afraid that more leveraged banks or commercial banks could run into trouble and it was a flight to safety. The second is a bit of a paradox: our relationship managers have been very close to their clients.
«We are not worried about the Juan Carlos matter at all»
They managed to increase the quality and quantity of discussions and relationships with people who were imprisoned in their salons or living room during the peak.
Mirabaud reportedly maintained an account for the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos. What’s going on with the Geneva investigation?
We cannot communicate on these things because we cannot talk about clients. We are very confident and we are not worried at all.
On what basis?
We know that Mirabaud has always played by the book and by the rules and regulations, as we always do in all markets we operate. We are absolutely convinced that there is nothing wrong in all this story.
Is the former king still a client of Mirabaud?
We cannot, of course, give details. Anyway it’s an old story. A king on the one hand plus a mistress on the other plus money – you have all the ingredients to have the people's press excited. This story does not deserve at all the coverage it gets.
How is Mirabaud’s Latin American business doing?
It's doing well. We just received a second license in Brazil which authorizes us to conduct broader wealth management and advisory activities there. And we want to continue to grow our business.
Latin America has been a hot spot for several Swiss private banks. Do you have any Venezuelan clients at all?
No, we don't.
What about here in Switzerland, as offshore clients?
No.
You hired four private equity specialists recently. Where is your overall headcount?
We have now a team of 15 people for private equity. We are still around 700 people at a group level. The hiring and departures offset each other.
What are you working on right now?
We are launching our third private equity fund on a lifestyle, impact and innovation theme. Millennials and new consumers want less but better consuming, with more sustainable and responsible commitment.
«We're not looking to hire new teams at this stage»
So we were targeting to invest in local companies and domestic artisans. The Covid crisis has dramatically reinforced that investment case, and we think the timing is right.
Where do you see headcount at year-end?
We don't want to rush into hiring. We will continue to hire good, talented relationship managers in our core markets for wealth management. We will keep reinforcing what needs to be reinforced in asset management, but we don't we don't want necessarily to hire new teams at this stage.
Lionel Aeschlimann is CEO of Mirabaud asset management and has been a partner of the Geneva-based wealth manager since 2011 alongside Yves Mirabaud, Camille Vial, and Nicholas Mirabaud. A Swiss lawyer, Aeschlimann was previously a partner at securities law firm Schellenberg Wittmer in Geneva, where he began his career as an associate in 1994. Aeschlimann, who studied law in Bern and Bruges, is a member of Switzerland's takeover board, the foundation board of think-tank Avenir Suisse, and the board of Haussmann GP.
