Andbank has been based in Monaco for twelve years. Its growth has been steady, as has that of the Andbank Group internationally. Gérard GRISETI, CEO & Partner, explains the reasons for this growth and future projects.
Andbank Monaco has grown considerably in recent years...
In parallel with the Group's growth. Twelve years ago, the Andbank Group was managing almost 6 billion euros of private wealth; today, it manages 40 billion euros. Andbank in Monaco has followed the same trend. When we acquired Monte Paschi in 2011, the bank consisted of around 30 people; today, we employ 55. The increase is significant, as is the bank's gross operating income. This is a great source of satisfaction for our shareholders, our staff and our customers, who have been loyal to us since we first set up in Monaco.
How do you explain this growth?
Andbank is a family banking group of entrepreneurs. It's the leading bank in Andorra, but its owners quickly realized that internationalization was the key to its future. Expansion has been gradual and steady. After an initial expansion in South America, Andbank successively created three European subsidiaries, in Luxembourg, Monaco and Spain, where it is now the country's sixth-largest bank. Like any entrepreneur, the Group's objective has always been twofold: to be recognized and legitimate in the countries where it operates, and to be profitable.
And in Monaco?
Our first objective was to integrate the Monte Paschi clientele. This was, shall we say, a natural step, given that we had retained the entire team. Today, 50% of our clients are resident in Monaco. 75% of our clients are French-Monegasque-European. We see ourselves as a local player who has been successfully established in Monaco for twelve years, with a business model that differs from that of local banks, which are often attached to large international banking groups with a universal vocation. We are a subsidiary of Andbank, not a branch, which gives us a great deal of autonomy and local presence.
In what sense?
We subcontract very few services to the Group, from portfolio management to technological support. For example, we have deployed a new information system, with the integration of an EDM and CRM tool developed locally by Kee System, a Monegasque company. We also developed a system enabling customers to place their orders over the Internet, all of which was implemented locally. Over and above basic services, we're determined to remain a fully integrated local player, capable of making rapid decisions. That's our trademark: an entrepreneurial DNA.
How would you define your company?
We are a family office dedicated to private clients, with a banking license. We spend a lot of time with our customers. Our 55 employees serve 400 families. This is a very good ratio, enabling us to respond to each customer's specific needs and provide them with solutions that meet their expectations. We continue to recruit private bankers, and the feedback we receive from our customers is very positive, as is their loyalty. They appreciate the quality of our service and the stability of our teams. Our product mix is highly profitable. It's made up of portfolio management, customer services and a financing business often focused on residential real estate acquisitions for our private clients.
What are your customers' expectations?
They appreciate our management offer and our expertise, but above all they expect a great deal of stability, a good knowledge of their business, the preservation of regular performance and a long-standing customer relationship. Our customers have a slightly more conservative investment profile than the average bank. They are entrepreneurs and families, like us, and not speculators.
They have often built up their wealth through their professional activities, and are not looking to make a fortune from their investments. They do, of course, keep abreast of major developments, and we're getting more and more inquiries about the green economy, for example.
How do you see Andbank Monaco's future?
We're aiming for controlled, high-quality growth in order to maintain the close relationship we have with our customers. We keep a close eye on the needs and developments of the marketplace, particularly from a regulatory point of view. We are committed to high standards of KYC (Know Your Customer). Our "family office" approach enables us to know our customers not only financially and wealth-wise, but also from a regulatory point of view. This guarantees an optimal customer experience and an adequate level of control, both of which are essential for the growth we want to achieve with complete peace of mind.
