A figure from the Baer family is creating his own banking business, bucking a trend of industry consolidation in Switzerland.

A scion of Switzerland’s Baer banking dynasty is trying his luck by setting up his own financial firm, MBaer Merchant Bank, according to Bloomberg.

Michael Baer, who is the great grandson of Julius Baer, the man whose eponymous bank is one of the top organisations in the Alpine state, is about to start taking on clients for a venture that won its banking licence late last year. 

“We hope to be operational by March,” Baer was quoted saying in an interview. “We are still looking for suitable offices in Zurich,” said Baer. He has worked at the Julius Baer business for several years. 

Asked if his surname will be useful for winning clients, he replied: “I can provide an answer to this question in two or three years,” Baer said. "I’m proud that I can look back on such a long history in banking."

MBaer has 12 employees, all of whom are partners and therefore own stakes in the company. In the next two years, this could rise to 20 or 25, Baer said. “We are building the bank from zero and want to grow slowly with the number of our customers,” he said. “Acquisitions or the like are out of the question for us.”

The new organisation describes itself as a merchant bank, focused on clients’ business affairs as well as their private wealth. This blending of corporate finance and wealth management is not unique to this firm, of course. Some of the newer banks in Switzerland, such as REYL, have prided themselves on offering this mix for clients who still own operating businesses.

Swiss banking is rich with dynastic history, with examples of Lombard Odier, Mirabaud, Pictet, Julius Baer, Edmond de Rothschild, Vontobel and Bordier, among others.

The arrival of the new firm bucks a trend of consolidation in the Swiss banking sector. According to the Swiss Bankers Association, there were 253 banks at the end of 2017, according to its most recent data.

That contrasts with a figure over 300 a decade ago. A period of negative official interest rates, the demise internationally of Swiss bank secrecy, and rising compliance costs have driven out marginal players and driven demand for economies of scale.