Strategy
REYL Intesa Sanpaolo Continues Swiss Paralympic Support

The Swiss private bank reiterates its backing for the organisation as the summer Olympic Games in Paris draws closer.
REYL
Intesa Sanpaolo is continuing its partnership with Swiss
Paralympic ahead of the 2024 Summer Paralympic Games in
Paris.
The bank supports the athletes who will be selected to
participate in future Paralympic Games, including those in Paris
from 28 August to 8 September. It has been involved with Swiss
Paralympic, the umbrella organisation for the Alpine
state's paralympic sport, since 2019.
The partnership mirrors that of a number of other wealth
management institutions and financial firms who support
sports as a way of communicating a certain brand image and
ethos. For example, the world’s largest wealth manager, UBS, is
global sponsor for Formula 1.
REYL’s support has included backing athletes such as Sofia
Gonzalez (athletics) and Robin Cuche (Alpine skiing).
In the context of the Summer Games, Sofia Gonzalez took part in
the 100 metre and long jump finals at the 2021 Paralympic Games
in Tokyo.
“The resilience and determination shown by the athletes is truly
inspiring. The renewal of our support confirms our commitment to
exceptional sportsmen and sportswomen in their national,
international, and Paralympic competitions,” François Reyl, chief
executive, said.
The intersection of sport, wealth and banking remains strong.
Roger Federer was a global ambassador for Credit Suisse for
years: this has shifted to UBS following the Credit Suisse
takeover by its Swiss rival last March. In golf – which has an
aspirational image which aligns with wealth management – there
are cases of, say, top 100 professional golfer Graeme McDowall,
who is a brand ambassador for Mastercard. Other Mastercard brand
ambassadors include Brandt Snedeker and Brooke
Henderson.
Sponsorship can anchor loyalty and create a certain international
connection, which subliminally can impress clients. Standard
Chartered sponsors Liverpool FC, in part because the UK-listed
bank earns so much revenue in Asia-Pacific, a region that has
fallen in love with the English Premier League.