How to open a bank account in Lombard Odier

• the bank opens savings (investment) accounts;
• a meeting with a bank representative is required either in Moscow, or in Switzerland, or during the visit of a bank representative to Moscow;
• the bank is ready to start working with a client investing CHF 1,000,000, it makes sense to place at least CHF 5,000,000 in the bank;
• the term for opening an account – case by case (check with the consultant).

On arrival at Geneva Airport, you will see a billboard advertising simultaneously four banks. Brands rarely cooperate to collectively promote their services, and in the banking sector such cases are almost exceptional. I think I can follow this route and give a collective reference for these banks.

The first question which comes to mind is ‘What do they have in common?’ The answer will characterize them all together and each one individually. They are: Bordier & Cie, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, Mirabaud & Cie, and Pictet & Cie.

The first thing that attracts your notice is ‘Cie’ at the end of each name which is almost never found among typical abbreviations indicating the type of entity (Ltd, Corp, LLC, LLP, SA, AG, GmBH, NV, NB, KFT, RT, AB, OY, etc). It is no surprise because ‘Cie’ indicates a legal form which provides for an unlimited liability of partners for the company’s debts. This is the reason why such suffix is so rarely used and also one more argument in favour of the bank’s reliability and stability.

Speaking of reliability: this word nowadays makes you smile a bitter smile, but your brows may lift in surprise when you hear the dates of foundation of these financial institutions: 1844, 1796, 1819, and 1805. You need not be too shrewd to guess the ‘client acceptance threshold’ – it is somewhat higher than in the world-famous Swiss brands (UBS and CreditSwiss) and ranges between 500 000 and 1 000 000.

And lastly, these banks’ employees normally have undergone ‘training’ (or ‘school’, whichever you prefer) in more ‘celebrated’ fellow banks which head the TOP-list of the Swiss banking system.

The transfer charges are relatively low (CHF 20-37), but the bank is oriented towards traditional investments of which a good variety is offered.

As of 1 January 2014, the private bank Lombard Odier was transformed into a société anonyme and disclosed the size of its assets (CHF 500 000 000 invested by the eight partners)