General Bank, after having established its Swiss branch BG Suisse Private Bank, has now obtained the license laid down by the FINMA, the Swiss market supervisory body: which means it can now operate as real bank also in Switzerland. Not only from the point of view of the products, but also in the expansion on the territory.
“We pay attention to small banks, trust companies, family offices. In Lugano we have acquired the majority of the Valeur trust company, now BG Valeur, and we do not rule out being able to implement other acquisitionsHe said Gian Maria Mossa the CEO of Banca Generali, in an interview with Corriere del Ticino. This morning the stock on Piazza Affari was trading at 33,02 euros, up by 0,92%, contributing to the 1,58% increase in the entire banking sector of FitseMib
For Banca Generali it is an "important step". Switzerland is a "landmark of importance"
For Banca Generali, whose activities are based on private banking and wealth management, obtaining the license is "an important step", Mossa said. “In fact, we aim to become increasingly rooted and therefore to further expand our capabilities our activities on the Swiss market. Naturally, Italy continues to be the main point of reference for us, but outside the Italian borders it is precisely the Swiss Confederation that constitutes an important landing place, which we have identified for some time".
It hasn't happened for 15 years that the Swiss authorities have granted a license to an Italian private bank.
From Lugano, the expansion first to Zurich and then to Geneva
The headquarters of the Swiss subsidiary is in Lugano and Banca Generali aims to take root in the area of Canton Ticino, but in the future it wants to expand into the entire Swiss market: it will be possible for us to be present in the other main Swiss private banking centres, let's look first of all at Zurich and then possibly a Geneva”. Now, however, we first of all want to develop the activities of our Lugano unit BG Suisse Private Bank, which has a solid team, with the presidency of the Board of Directors entrusted to Veit de Maddalena, with Renato Santi as CEO and with the operational guidance of BG Valeur to Alida Carcano, Mossa says again.
As in Italy, also in Switzerland the institute aims to develop synergies with its majority shareholder, Generali. “In Italy we have implemented important synergies – explained Mossa – and there is excellent collaboration with the controlling shareholder. There are several points of contact between the activities of insurance and that of banking, for example in financial products and the distribution of investment funds. There are therefore all the conditions to have synergies between us and our majority shareholder also in Switzerland, the market in which Assicurazioni Generali moreover, it has had a direct presence for a long time."
Net collection at the end of September: +42% on year
Yesterday Banca Generali also disclosed the data to end of September. La net collection it was 373 million euros, 42% more than in September last year, which brings the total from the beginning of 2023 to 4,3 billion, with an increase of 7% compared to a year earlier. As for the composition of net collection, the largest is to be recorded increase in liquidity since the beginning of the year, with 260 million in September, to which must be added the flows into administered accounts equal to 265 million, for a total collection in administered savings of 525 million in September and 4,8 billion in the first nine months. While the insurance collection records "a reflexive dynamic", the flows in managed solutions and in advice evolved on administered savings increased by 98 million in the month, for a total of 2,2 billion from the beginning of 2023 (+40% on an annual basis).
