Banque Heritage was born out of a desire to re-establish an overall vision of assets that had become too fragmented to be managed effectively. With the need for alignment, the rise of hybrid models and the changing role of private banks, Marcos Esteve, the bank's CEO, advocates an integrated approach built around a comprehensive understanding of the customer and the ability to deal with complex situations over the long term.
What solutions and services did the Esteve family want to benefit from when they launched Heritage, their own bank?
We come from a family that has been involved in commodities trading for almost two centuries, initially cotton, then coffee and cocoa. Our operations span five continents. Because of our international dimension and the growing complexity of our activities, we quickly came up against the limitations of traditional financial institutions, which did not provide us with solutions that were really adapted to our needs.
The problem wasn't so much access to products as their relevance. We had the feeling that we were being sold mainly in-house solutions, with layers of charges that were difficult to read, and a real asymmetry in terms of information. Added to this was the fundamental lack of a consolidated view. Each bank managed a pocket, without understanding our overall structure. But when you have industrial assets, private equity, real estate and cash, this fragmentation becomes a risk in itself.
Heritage was therefore initially designed as a family office, an internal tool for centralising, understanding and making better decisions. The banking model came later, as we co-invested with other families and structured more complex transactions.
In today's environment, is it better to be a bank or a multi-family office?
The distinction has become largely theoretical. What counts today is not the status, but the ability to deliver. A multi-family office brings independence and a global vision, but it also depends on banking infrastructures. A bank has the tools, but it may also be constrained by its business model.
We chose not to make a choice. The banking licence gives us robustness and depth, particularly in credit and certain regulated activities, but we also act as an independent manager, with assets deposited in several institutions.
This model allows us to retain complete freedom of allocation, while offering a comprehensive range of services. Above all, it avoids falling back into the very biases we were seeking to overcome when we launched Heritage.
What have been the key moments in the bank's transformation in recent years?
There have been several phases, but the turning point was first and foremost a realisation. We had to stop being hybrid by accident and become hybrid by design. So we started by positioning ourselves very clearly. We are not a private bank like the others. We are a bank for families, built by families, for families. That changes everything in the way we think about service, risk and even customer relations.
Then, there were a number of structuring steps. The merger in 2019 with Sallfort, another family bank, has enabled us to reach a milestone, particularly in terms of critical mass. Our international expansion, particularly in Uruguay, has also served as a testing ground. There we built a different, more entrepreneurial model, based around private banking and corporate finance.
Today, the most visible transformation is operational. We talk a lot about digitalisation, and in reality it has become essential. Where some banks are still bogged down in lengthy processes, the ability to open an account quickly and easily gives us an immediate competitive advantage.
What are the differentiating factors on which you want to base your development?
The first is alignment. It's a word that's often overused, but for us it's very real. We invest in the same strategies as our customers, which profoundly changes the relationship, because the investment decision is no longer abstract.
The second is our ability to deal with complexity. Today's assets are no longer linear. They are hybrid, international and often illiquid. Understanding flows, liquidity needs and investment cycles is becoming essential.
Finally, there is the idea of globality. For a long time, private banking was content to manage only a portion of wealth, namely financial assets. Today, that's not enough. If you don't understand what else the client owns, whether it's their businesses, their income or even their debts, you can't really build a relevant allocation.
How is your family office culture reflected in your asset management?
Above all, it imposes discipline. A family office thinks in generations, not quarters. The result is much more rigorous risk management, a better understanding of cycles, and a certain humility in the face of the markets. This culture is also reflected in aspects that are perhaps a little less visible. Family governance, for example, is often a determining factor in investment decisions. We have clients who structure their assets to avoid the effects of dilution or poor transmission. And then there's the very simple principle of doing nothing for our clients that we wouldn't do for ourselves. This also underpins the credibility of our approach.
What role do services ancillary to asset management play today?
They have become central to the commoditisation of portfolio management. What makes the difference is the ability to structure, coordinate and provide an overall vision. We spend a lot of time on consolidation, analysing external performance and understanding real costs. But we also spend a lot of time on issues such as retirement, inheritance and asset structuring. With this in mind, the development of wealth planning is a natural extension. It's about supporting customers in these fundamental issues in a structured way, rather than on the margins. This is where value is created. However important it may be, financial asset management is no longer just one element in a much broader package.
How has the role of a private bank changed over the last ten years?
It has changed in nature. Previously, part of the value proposition was based on opacity or, let's say, discretion. Today, the opposite is true. Customers expect us to be totally transparent, both about costs and about decisions. Performance has become non-negotiable. Above all, the bank must be able to contextualise this performance, explain it and defend it. Finally, the relationship has changed. It is more continuous, more demanding and more strategic. Clients no longer just want a manager, they want a partner.
Do you see multi-family offices and independent asset managers as a threat or an opportunity?
Clearly an opportunity. The market is moving towards more specialisation and more collaboration. Independent asset managers bring a level of expertise, proximity and sometimes agility that banks don't always have. We already work with over a hundred of them. The key is to organise this relationship in a structured way, with no conflicts of interest, and with genuine complementarity. Eventually, I think we'll see some major independent players emerge from consolidation. The landscape is changing.
What do you see as the key success factors for a bank like Heritage?
For us, the decisive factor will continue to be an overall understanding of the customer. There are fundamentals that build on this. For example, the quality of our teams, our ability to recruit experienced people, and the consistency of the model we have put in place.
I would add one point that I think is just as decisive. You have to be able to say no and know how to say no. Today, true luxury consists in refusing a customer or a transaction that does not meet our standards. It's a sign of maturity and a prerequisite for sustainability.
In ten years' time, what do you want Heritage Bank to look like?
We want to remain an institution true to our DNA, independent and entrepreneurial, recognised as a benchmark partner by the families who turn to us. The challenge is not to grow at any price, but to become more relevant, by strengthening our presence in Switzerland, which has become a strategic market, and at the same time maintaining our ability to support complex international situations. At the end of the day, at the risk of repeating myself, what matters is not our size, but the coherence of our business model.