«After a while, there’s usually a Wow Effect,» says Andrey Batyukov in an interview with finews.com. By this, he means the moment when bankers realize who they have really applied to work with.

He is referring to Indosuez Wealth Management, specifically the Swiss branch of this private bank, which is part of Crédit Agricole (CA) – one of the ten largest banks in the world. Indosuez Wealth Management is the global wealth manager of the French financial group, and Batyukov has been managing the business in German-speaking Switzerland from Zurich for over a year.

The native Belarusian and now Swiss citizen has more than 25 years of banking experience, gained at various international financial institutions, including the South African Standard Bank London and BNP Paribas in Moscow, where he built up the energy and commodities financing division. He has lived and worked in Switzerland since 2011, joining Indosuez in Geneva in the summer of 2020.

Almost 150 Years in Switzerland

The bank's roots in Switzerland date back to 1876. However, among Geneva’s financial sector, Indosuez is relatively unknown in the local private banking industry. Its name has a rich history, like few other banking brands. The original Banque Indosuez was a French financial institution formed in 1975 through the merger of Banque de l'Indochine and Banque de Suez et de l'Union des Mines.

In 1996, Crédit Agricole acquired the company, which formed what is today the «Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank» division. In 2016, the CA group decided to use the brand for its global wealth management business, as reported by finews.com at the time.

Three Business Areas

Headquarters of CA in Zurich (Image: CAG)

Indosuez today operates in three business areas: as an international private bank in classic wealth management; as an investment bank, where it leverages and supplements its parent company’s services; and with the Azqore brand for IT services in the financial sector. Recently, the company has also focused on the private equity business in Switzerland, as Batyukov adds in the interview. «The diversified and well-developed financial ecosystem makes it attractive to operate this area from Switzerland as well,» he says.

Key group companies based in Zurich include asset manager Amundi, asset servicing company Caceis, and CA next Bank, the only foreign bank in Switzerland involved in retail banking, which recently opened a branch on Uraniastrasse in a building shared with Indosuez and other group companies. Altogether, the CA group employs over 1,600 people in Switzerland – another «Wow Effect», according to Batyukov.

Searching for Talent

Andrey Batyukov (Bild: zvg)

With this diverse offering, Batyukov aims to strengthen the market in German-speaking Switzerland, especially in light of the reshuffling of the banking industry following the end of Credit Suisse (CS) and the withdrawal of some foreign banks' Swiss branches, which has created a vacuum and opened up significant opportunities.

In this context, Indosuez has recently hired several client advisors and is «constantly searching for new talents,» Batyukov adds. Unlike other banks, Indosuez does not look for entire teams but goes about it selectively to complement the organization, for example, with specialists for the Middle Eastern or Latin American markets.

Bank for Global Nomads

Although it has a global focus, Batyukov sees great potential in the Swiss market, where Indosuez primarily targets expats and «global nomads» – individuals and families who view themselves as «citizens of the world» and for whom the bank has the expertise to solve the complex issues they face in different countries.

The business has also recently gained additional momentum due to Indosuez’s acquisition of the Belgian financial institution Degroof Petercam, founded in 1871, which was completed a year ago. Degroof Petercam is primarily active in wealth management in Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, managing around 70 billion euros for clients, including some residing in Switzerland.

Catapulted Into a New League

With over 200 billion Swiss francs in client assets under management, the Indosuez group has catapulted itself into a new private banking league in Europe through its merger with Degroof Petercam. «Our expansion strategy in the German-speaking Swiss market also relies on our newly achieved critical size,» emphasizes Batyukov.