Maerki Baumann, a Zurich-based private bank, announced that it will manage the cryptoassets of its customers. In Switzerland, it is the second private bank to take this step forward.
Maerki Baumann & Falcon bank
Previously mentioned in one of our last articles, Switzerland, or more precisely some Swiss financial institutions, seemed to pout when crypto startups knocked on their door to open the bank account of the company. The Kantonal Bank of Zurich and another bank had clearly stipulated that they would no longer accept the funds of those cryptos startups, this being mainly due to the fact that KYC and AML standards had not been put in place in the right way.
That being said, there is a significant demand from wealthy investors for this new type of asset: cryptocurrencies.
After the Swiss private bank Falcon Bank, it is the turn of the asset management company Maerki Baumann (CHF 7.7 billion assets under management in 2017 ~ $USD 7.47 billion), also located in the vicinity of Paradeplatz to accept cryptos funds.
Published on the bank’s website, the director of the IT and digitization department, Milko G. Hensel, details his analysis around Nakamoto’s currency and derivatives. The institution says it does not offer direct investments in this type of asset, but will provide its privileged clientele with much-needed expertise.
The bank states that:
“Maerki Baumann is attentive and closely follows the development of this type of investment but also the regulations that underlie it, but we do not fully engage in this area. In addition, we analyze investments in cryptocurrencies as well as the technologies needed to be able to traded and stored them. We currently consider cryptocurrencies as alternative investment vehicles, but our experience and the data we have are still limited (price, volatility, volume of transactions) “.
Cryptocurrencies now accepted
Maerki Baumann will accept cryptocurrencies acquired either through a payment of services or mined.
Nevertheless, it strongly discourages larger investments in these types of assets claiming that they are not suitable for long-term investments due to high price volatility and market uncertainty.
In the early summer, the Hypothekarbank Lenzburg in the canton of Aargau became the first Swiss bank to provide accounts for companies operating in FinTech, particularly those associated with Blockchain and the world of cryptos. In 2017, Falcon Bank received approval from FINMA to offer its customers bitcoins and other altcoins.
