Urs Minder came to Monaco 20 years ago, initially for 3 years, the time needed to complete his mission of restructuring UBS (Monaco) S.A.’s offering. He never left Monaco and has established his family there.
A true ambassador of Swiss culture, he was appointed Honorary Swiss Consul to Monaco in November 2004.
Not lacking in ambition for UBS (Monaco) S.A. where he has been CEO since 2011, his enthusiasm is contagious. A portrait.
What are UBS’ principles and values?
We apply the brand’s three commitments every day:
- Customer focus: we demonstrate an unparalleled customer focus at all company levels.
- Excellence: we strive for excellence in all we do, from the people we employ to the products and services we offer our customers.
- Sustainable performance: we are focused long-term and we strive to strengthen our solid business reputation by achieving constant returns for our stakeholders.
The Group asks its employees to share common values such as integrity, collaboration and challenge.
We also relate highly to our ‘citizen’ business role. We are proud to be the main partner of the New National Museum of Monaco since four years ago. Local cultural institutions contribute to Monaco’s attractiveness on the international stage.
What type of customer does UBS (Monaco) S.A. have?
We support high income customers who, on average, divide their assets between at least three banking locations. The majority of our customers live in the EU or Monaco.
Our customer base has changed in recent years, becoming more professional and demanding. We have had to adapt our offering to demand in order to give our customers increasingly sophisticated solutions. Our range of services is wide: execution, advisory mandate or management mandate. We offer investment opportunities and styles for most traditional and alternative asset categories, including shares, bonds, currencies, hedge funds, property and private equity, which can also be combined.
What are your plans for the future of UBS (Monaco) S.A.?
UBS is the world leader in Wealth Management and is recognised as such by its peers. We have also been awarded the “Best Global Wealth Manager 2015” award by Euromoney.
In Monaco, we want to strengthen our benchmark status in the Wealth Management area.
Our prime objective remains service excellence and customer satisfaction. To achieve this we have strengthened and restructured our teams. We are also completing major infrastructure projects with new versions of software tools so that we can be more efficient and respond better to a younger customer base more focused on digitization.
How do you measure customer satisfaction?
We use UBS Group satisfaction surveys to analyse how closely our solutions match customer needs.
One benchmark is the loyalty of our customers, demonstrated by their entrusting us with additional funds to manage.
The real challenge is to foresee customer needs and requirements. On this point the new IT platforms I mentioned will help us but digitization will never replace human beings. We want to be a modern, human and different bank.
The banking landscape is changing, in Monaco too. What do you think about that?
The financial industry is changing direction. This trend is international and will be strengthened. The main reason is the increased costs of production, operations and investments required to meet customer and regulator needs. The fact that UBS has a solid capital is a real competitive advantage.
In Monaco I believe we still have some good years ahead. Monaco is and will remain an attractive platform for Ultra High Net Worth customers – easy to access from all over Europe, it enjoys a stable political situation and has the ideal infrastructure for international families, all in a very pleasant Mediterranean climate.
