Bantleon Returns Banking Licence in Switzerland
Asset manager Bantleon Bank AG in Switzerland is relinquishing its banking licence and will operate as Bantleon AG. The move aims to increase the company's flexibility.
Bantleon Bank AG in Switzerland is giving up its banking licence and will henceforth operate under the name Bantleon AG. The company cites the need for increased flexibility and a renewed focus on its core asset management business.
Jörg Bantleon, founder and owner, stated that the financial markets face exciting years ahead which the company wants to actively engage with. A review of organizational structures, coinciding with a relocation, made it clear that a banking licence, which limits flexibility, is no longer necessary for an asset manager without traditional banking operations.
Asset management activities will now be conducted under a licence as a manager of collective assets, which is also supervised by FINMA, the Swiss financial market supervisory authority. Bantleon had held a banking licence in Switzerland since 1998, when it was the primary qualified licence for financial institutions.
The company indicated that robust risk management and controlling are now standard in institutional asset management, rendering the banking licence superfluous. This strategic shift is expected to grant Bantleon greater agility and a stronger focus on serving clients within the evolving asset management landscape.