Banque Bonhôte
| Public | |
| Industry | Private banking, Wealth management, Institutional asset managements |
| Genre | Private bank |
| Founded | 1815 |
| Headquarters | Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
Number of locations | Neuchâtel, Biel-Bienne, Geneva, Bern |
Key people | Jean Berthoud (Chairman) |
| Products | Private Banking |
Number of employees | 70 |
| Website | http://www.bonhote.ch/ |
Banque Bonhôte & Cie SA, which was founded in Neuchâtel in 1815, is active in financial and wealth management, its core business.
History
In 1815, Louis Petitmaître established the first private bank in Neuchâtel. He was succeeded by his son Louis in 1872. Twenty-three years later, in 1895, the latter’s cashier joined forces with Paul Bonhôte to open Banque Antenen Bonhôte & Cie, which became Banque Bonhôte & Cie in 1903.
In 1936, Claude Bonhôte succeeded his father, taking the helm at the Bank until 1988, when he sold it to a local financial and industrial holding company.
In 1992, Jean Berthoud and a group of partners bought out the Bank returning it to private hands. As from this date, he took over the general management of the bank before becoming Chairman of the Board. Jean Berthoud thererfore follows the family steps whose own private banking heritage dates back to 1785.
In 2014, Yves de Montmollin takes over the management of the bank. The executive team consists of Yves de Montmollin, CEO, Jean-Paul Jeckelmann, Olivier Vollenweider and Robin Richard.
Location
The head office of the Bank is in Neuchâtel. It has branches in Bienne since 2004, Geneva since 2009,and in Bern since June 2011.
Activities
In 2006, the Bank launched the Bonhôte-Immobilier real estate fund, which later took over the struggling Dynamic Real Estate Fund (DREF). Since the takeover, Bonhôte-Immobilier is one of the largest funds in western Switzerland, with assets of around CHF 800m (mid-2011).
Board of Directors and management team
In 1999, the Board of Directors included the former MP Yann Richter (Free Democratic Party), the former head of the SNB, Jean Zwahlen, a director of Paribas and the Union Bancaire Privée, and Erwin Meyer, a business lending specialist. Nicolas Wavre, founder of Etel, in Môtiers, was chairman of the board until the end of 2009.He was succeeded by Jean Berthoud, principal shareholder of the Bank, who resigned as CEO at the end of 2009 to become Chairman of the Board. Thomas Lötscher was appointed the new CEO.
In 2011, the Neuchâtel Commercial Register lists the Directors as: Jean Louis-George Berthoud, of Val-de-Travers and Neuchâtel, in Neuchâtel, director and chairman; Jean-Jacques Henri Albert Guinand, of Les Brenets, in Zurich; Erwin Meyer, of Geneva, in Geneva; François Jean Etienne Berthoud, of France, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France; Marie-Noëlle Suzanne Letellier, of Neuchâtel, in Neuchâtel; Markus Ranft, of Basle, in Riedholz; Nicolas Paul André Wavre, of Neuchâtel, in Boudry; René M. Stulz, of Tafers, in Colombus, Ohio, USA. The Secretary General is Jacques Barnaud, of France, in Neuchâtel. The Chairman of the Board is Jean Berthoud, who also sits on the Board of the Swiss Bankers Association since the end of 2010.