2022

Foreword
Eric Charpentier

Éric Charpentier
President of the Board of Directors

Foreword by the President of the Board of Directors

Dear clients,
Dear employees,

2022 began amid hopes that the economic and health situations would get back to normal. The war in Ukraine and the return of inflation served as a reminder (as if one was needed) that the global geopolitical environment is full of instability and uncertainty.

to read on

This had an immediate impact on energy and commodity prices, which came on top of of the combined effects of the strong recovery in demand in 2021 and major and persistent supply chain disruptions. Central banks responded to these inflationary pressures by stepping up the pace of their rate hikes, triggering major volatility across the stock markets.

Against this backdrop, we listened more closely than ever to our clients. Our unique market approach and our ability to roll out customised solutions to provide effective support for our clients’ projects allowed us to weather the storm successfully.

We also continued to develop some of our flagship activities; for instance, we established a partnership with Stableton Financial that marks a major step towards democratising innovative investments. This expansion of our product range will be completed during the current year thanks to the synergies we enjoy with our parent Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale, and is fully in line with our philosophy of providing value-added services. We also had the pleasure of seeing our Lugano branch celebrate its 25th anniversary, a sign of how firmly we are now rooted in Ticino.

Despite the uncertain economic environment, our results moved in line with expectations. The balance sheet total was down slightly to just under CHF 13 billion. The credit volume was up 2.9% to CHF 9.7 billion and net new money was CHF 1.2 billion. The bank’s operating income jumped 8.8% year-on-year to CHF 190.6 million. Operating profit was CHF 41.2 million and net profit CHF 26.2 million. Own funds increased to CHF 820 million, again ahead of legal requirements.

It was with deep regret that we identified irregularities which had been committed in our St Gallen branch involving the sum of CHF 25 million (0.2% of assets). Once this isolated event had been discovered, the Board of Directors took every necessary measure immediately. All internal audit procedures have been stepped up further.

We would like to point out that Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. stands on very solid foundations. Its parent, the mutualist and cooperative group Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale has a CET 1 ratio of 18.2%, the highest of all French banks, and own funds of EUR 56.7 billion. Its status as a special-purpose bank provides assurance that it maintains robust values and is committed to a better society.

Although a leading player in the bancassurance market, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is not listed and so stands above any speculation – a warrant for its stability and longevity. The synergies and good cooperation with its parent have made a major contribution to the development of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. and will continue to do so in future. While supporting the growth of it Swiss subsidiary, the group is aware of its special local and national features and has guaranteed that the bank’s decision-making centre will remain in Switzerland.

Since 1 February 2023, the CEO has been Livia Moretti. She has solid and wide-ranging management, banking and financial skills at international level. Under her leadership, Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd. is looking to meet ambitious targets and pushing ahead with its development to serve our clients.

I would like to thank all the employees of Bank CIC for their consistent dedication to keeping our clients satisfied. We will continue to do everything we can to earn their trust and build a long-term relationship with them.

The Board of Directors and Executive Board of Bank CIC will continue to endeavour to offer high-quality advice and permanent proximity in order to find customised solutions for every financial need.

We are delighted to be working with you towards our common future.

Éric Charpentier

Éric Charpentier
President of the Board of Directors

Facts and figures

13.0 billion

0.0 billion

Total assets in CHF

Income structure
Income structure
54%22%21%3%
0000
  • Interest income
  • Fee and commission income
  • Trading income
  • Other ordinary income
  • Interest income
  • Fee and commission income
  • Trading income
  • Other ordinary income
Change in results from commission business
Change in results from commission business
27 million29 million34 million39 million43 million20182019202020212022
27 million29 million34 million39 million43 million20182019202020212022
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
What our employees say

Testimonials

Three employees talk about their everyday lives and give us unique insights.

Flaka Dervisaj, Head Account Opening
My team Ouverture de compte and I opened 18,414 accounts in 2022. The vast majority of these, which are for retail clients, come to us through our cooperation with our parent company. That being said, the proportion of openings by our relationship managers or the clients themselves also increased dramatically last year. The threads for all the openings in Switzerland come together here in Basel.

Andrea Manco, Operating & Databases Specialist
In our core banking system, we process almost 60 million messages per year. In 2022, the exact figure was 59,821,753. Every invoice paid by or to a client, for example, is processed with one of these messages. These messages are an essential part of the day-to-day operation of our systems and business at Bank CIC.

Emilie Farruggio, Credit Center Specialist
Our team Administration des crédits in Switzerland consists of 12 employees and arranged 1,410 loan contracts during 2022. This is important work that reflects and contributes to the bank's development across Switzerland. A good deal of effort and ongoing cooperation with the front office have made it possible, as has the exemplary communication between everyone involved. We help many of our customers turn their dreams into reality by providing them with liquidity

Market review and outlook
Mario Geniale

Mario Geniale
Head Investments of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd.

Luca Carrozzo

Luca Carrozzo
Chief Investment Officer of Bank CIC (Switzerland) Ltd.

Market review and outlook

Marco Geniale and Luca Carrozzo summarise the key events on the financial markets in 2022 and put forward some ideas on political and economic trends in 2023.

to read on

2021 was an exceptionally pleasing year for investments. The Swiss Market Index went up by 23.73% year on year, while US and European equities also performed extremely well, rising by 29.85% and 23.66% respectively.

2022 was an exceptionally challenging year for investments. Surprisingly, both bonds and equities put in a negative showing. This is unusual, occurring only three times in the last 100 years: 1931, 1969 and now 2022. Normally, there is a negative correlation between bonds and equities, which diversifies portfolios and protects them. Thus, portfolios made up solely of equities and bonds had one of the worst calendar years for a century in 2022. Last year, the SMI lost 14.29%, while the Swiss Bond Index dropped 12.10%.

The negative performance in 2022 is the result of the end of an era. Since 2008, the Swiss National Bank, European Central Bank and Federal Reserve alone have pumped roughly USD 15,500 billion of liquidity into financial markets. Investors have now grown accustomed to this liquidity. But the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent rise in consumer prices have broken the trend. Central banks are attempting to bring inflation back down to a reasonable level by hiking interest rates and tightening monetary policy. With interest rates having been low for years, investors are now having to get used to the new environment.

We have entered an new era for investing. Central banks are draining liquidity from the market and key interest rates are gradually being raised. Investors need to adapt to the new terrain.

As we enter a new year, investors are once again ready to take risks and are mainly putting their money in last year’s laggards. They have been looking for growth stocks, cyclical stocks and technology stocks. The positive mood on the stock exchange is supported by corporate figures that have been slightly better than expected, as well as ebbing pressure on prices in Switzerland, Europe and the USA.

In the current year, the focus will be on bonds. These have become more attractive now that yields have risen. We continue to prefer Swiss corporate issues with short duration. Over the course of 2023, the bond markets should start to price in central bank rate cuts again, and we feel they are attractive.

We expect markets to remain volatile, but central banks will be keen not to see their monetary policy choke off growth completely.

The dollar will probably weaken owing to the possibility of Fed rate cuts. On top of all this comes the major uncertainty surrounding the geopolitical situation. This should boost the gold price.

In asset management, we are sticking to our positive long-term outlook and broad diversification across asset classes. Past experience has shown that setbacks triggered by geopolitical stress events are generally of limited duration when portfolios are well diversified. Selecting high-quality Swiss companies provides a degree of protection, even in times of crisis. We are holding on to individual stocks with strong fundamentals.

In Switzerland, we prefer the following securities this year: among defensives, we like Novartis, Zurich Insurance and Swiss Life. Among blue chips, we also like ABB, Lonza and Sika; in the second-liners Bachem, SIG and VAT Group. In Europe, we are backing Sanofi, Volkswagen and Adidas; in the USA we prefer stocks that could benefit from rate cuts, such as Alphabet, Amazon and Sales Force.

Themes related to developments in the food sector are still very exciting in our view, so we are enthusiastic about future technologies in this industry. Food produced worldwide amounts to around 10% of global GDP. To produce this 10%, our food sector causes one-quarter of global emissions, employs one-third of all workers and uses half of the habitable land on the planet. This must and will change, providing corresponding investment opportunities.

Another topic that has gained impetus as a result of the current geopolitical situation is cyber security. This and the rising security budget around the world will probably be the most important sources of growth for this theme. In addition, cyber security will be a key topic for governments and private companies. The sector has enjoyed a boom in recent years. Our assumption is that this trend will continue.

With dedication to success
success-story-title

With dedication to success

If you want to build up a company or lead one successfully over many years, there’s one thing you need above all apart from persistence: dedication. At least, that’s the case for two of our clients: Norqain and Meubles Pesse. They have developed in different ways, but both firms set about their goals with passion from the very beginning.

Read here how watchmaker Norqain does well in the international market despite stiff competition, and how furniture company Meubles Pesse has overcome every obstacle in its path for 80 years.

to read on

Watches for those who like a challenge

Swiss company Norqain has conquered the international watch market by creating a new story. CEO Ben Küffer tells us more during a visit to the company’s headquarters in Nidau. He also talks about mammoth tasks, his dream as a father and Norqain’s partnership with Bank CIC.

Ben Küffer is 35 years old and CEO of Norqain. He founded the company in Nidau, near Biel, in 2018. Five years later, Norqain already has a presence in 178 stores in 25 countries. It produces nothing but mechanical watches which cost between CHF 2,000 and CHF 5,500 each. Ben and his fellow founders – former ice hockey pro Mark Streit and Ted Schneider, son of the ex-owner of Breitling – realised from the beginning that the watch market didn’t actually need a new brand. “So our vision was to create a new story that would go beyond tradition and history, the two elements we are already very familiar with in the world of watches,” he says. The new story matches the slogan: “my life, my way” and represents the Norqain spirit: “young, modern and accessible”. Norqain makes watches for those who like a challenge.

Ben Küffer
Ben Küffer, Founder and CEO of Swiss watchmaker Norqain

Headwind from the market

Making watches is in Ben Küffer’s DNA. His family have been in the business for 40 years in Tavannes in the Bernese Jura. He himself spent 11 years working at Breitling, before deciding to set up his own business in 2017. What did he need to take that step? “Passion,” he replies. “Doing things with passion and putting my energy into them comes naturally to me.”  You also have to be resilient. The first year, when Norqain wasn’t even on the market, was tough. The three founders felt a great deal of headwind from the industry. But the breakthrough for the young company came when it entered the market at the start of 2019: Norqain had a very successful year. It established a presence in 12 countries, signed up more than 70 retailers and achieved millions in sales.

But the sense of euphoria at the success didn’t last long. In 2020, Norqain faced new challenges in the shape of the coronavirus pandemic.  But Ben and his team had faith in their ideas and forged ahead with investing in the products. Looking for suitable lenders, Norqain presented its vision to Bank CIC. Since then, the Basel bank has been there for the company as a key strategic partner. For Ben, the decision to work with Bank CIC was an obvious one. As he puts it: “We were very impressed by how well they understood our entrepreneurial vision.” He also appreciates the close and good partnership – especially because it allows Norqain to make investments for the long term. “Bank CIC also appreciates the fact that we’re in a dynamic market where things don’t always go to plan,” Ben remarks. This mutual trust is hugely valuable.

Right from the start, we were very impressed by how well Bank CIC understood our entrepreneurial vision. 

Perfectionism, sensitivity, teamwork

Despite the initial market scepticism, Norqain remains successful on the market. Ben puts this down to the fact that the whole team are perfectionists with a sensitivity for detail. “Before we take important decisions, we think very hard about whether our idea stands out from the competition.” The CEO is full of praise for the close cooperation within the Norqain team. The company presently has 54 employees around the world. Ben describes searching for suitable employees in its foreign locations as “a mammoth task that demands huge amounts of energy”. For him, it’s important that staff are a good fit for the company and share its values. These include a culture of honest feedback, willingness to work hard and good teamwork. 

Ben Küffer
Swiss company Norqain has conquered the international watch market

Looking to the future, Norqain is keen to further expand the global branch network and develop new models jointly with Jean-Claude Biver. Since 2022, the experienced entrepreneur and former CEO of Hublot has been supporting the young company as a mentor and adviser to the Board of Directors.

Dreaming of the fourth generation

And talking of the future: although Ben is a young CEO at 35, he is already thinking about who will succeed him. “My son will soon be six and my daughter is three; my dream is that one day they will take over the company,” he laughs. His family visit him once a week at the company’s head office. “Who knows, maybe my children will develop the same passion for watches I had when I was a boy.” Of course he is not forcing anyone, but he is sure that having succeeded with the third generation, his family will manage to persuade the fourth generation too of the delights of watches.

And when the time is ripe for Ben to seriously set about the succession arrangements at Norqain, he can count on support from his adviser at Bank CIC.

Francis Pesse

Behind the scenes at Meubles Pesse, the mirror to our lives

Some names have a resonance in the world of business owners in French-speaking Switzerland – these include the Pesse family, whose company of the same name has been helping every generation to select their interior décor since 1941. Francis Pesse, CEO of Meubles Pesse, talks about how the furniture company evolved from its foundation until its recent sale.

When you meet Francis Pesse in the offices of Bank CIC in Lausanne it only takes a few minutes to be struck by the passion and love for his profession this charming and elegant man exudes. The story goes well beyond just dealing in furniture.

His parents Marius and Anne-Marie Pesse opened their very first shop in Romont in the Canton of Fribourg in 1941. In 1970, following the death of the head of the family, Francis and his brother Roland took over the reins at Meubles Pesse and started running the company. His own son Samuel has been following in his footsteps for almost 30 years. Over time Meubles Pesse became a benchmark for quality furniture in Switzerland – furniture to last a lifetime. The brand moved from local to national level and became the largest independent player in Switzerland by adapting to the needs of its customers rather than following passing trends. What people want changed, and so did Meubles Pesse.

A profession engraved on his soul

Even when he was still young and selling household accessories around Monthey, Francis Pesse was gaining a passion. There was no question for him of not following in the family business; he was going to sell high-quality furniture, like his father.

He and his brother Roland were in the right place to follow the changes in society through the prism of furnishings. He can remember the time when people used to come and buy all their furniture when they got married, and he takes a pragmatic view of how consumption habits have moved on since the 1970s. “I still have the file with all the young couples I sold furniture to for their first apartment, and it’s amusing to leaf through it again today – some of them stayed customers for decades! Things don’t work like that any more, young people probably don’t attach as much importance to the inside of their home and do things gradually as and when they can afford it,” he admits. Be that as it may, he has something for every wallet and you can’t argue with the service customers get at Meubles Pesse: a huge choice, assembly, delivery and personal service are all evidence of the quality that made the brand a benchmark in French-speaking Switzerland.

Francis Pesse
Francis Pesse, member of the family that founded the furniture company Meubles Pesse SA

Business, for sure, but not just any old how

“I evolved gradually but resolutely, without burning any bridges. To my mind, a good businessman has to be a long-distance runner, not a sprinter. The firm can now look back on an 80-year history and has around 70 employees, 15,000 m2 of display area and a 6,000 m2 logistics centre in Monthey – my son Samuel and I are very proud of it all. It took courage and perseverance to get to this point!”, he confesses.

If there is one thing Francis Pesse values above all else in his profession, it’s dealing with people and listening to them. First of all with his customers, who can always contact him if they wish, but also with the partners who were key in developing the business, including his bank. “Bank CIC supported Meubles Pesse as it developed, especially thanks to the relationship of trust we built up with Maurizio Pierazzi, the bank’s manager for specialist activities, who assisted us through the sale process. We understand each other very well, and that matters a great deal to me, particularly when there are important decisions to be taken.”

He is of the opinion that the Swiss furniture market has good prospects, as long as you don’t lose sight of staying close to your customers. He greatly regrets the fact that due to Covid everything moved online, so human interactions are rarer.

Bank CIC supported Meubles Pesse as it developed, especially thanks to the relationship of trust we built up with the bank’s manager for specialist activities, who assisted us through the sale process.

High points and low points forge bonds

Francis Pesse has to admit his family company has been obliged to move with the times, but explains that nothing can replace quality if you want something to last – in your products, and in personal service for your customers. Quality is the foundation on which a flourishing brand like Meubles Pesse is built.

One of his great challenges was to find ways to constantly evolve while still holding on to the values the firm had followed since it was founded. “First, we had to find some land and gradually start building, like with Lego; sales in the first store collapsed in 1974 because of the oil shock. Fortunately things bounced back very strongly in 1978 and we doubled our sales area and built a warehouse...but the shop in town burned down in 1982. We had to build everything again, still with the unshakeable desire to develop, grow and have more satisfied customers.”

A lifetime’s experience, not just a sale

There was never any question of passing the firm on to his son Samuel, largely because he never wanted to take it on and become head of Meubles Pesse one day. Even so, he worked alongside his father Francis for 30 years, who explains: “Samuel was always very clear that for him the adventure would come to an end when I left – even after all the great work he put it over all those years,” he smiles. “So it was a question of finding the best exit for everyone, and Bank CIC was great help in looking for a potential buyer. ”

The Pesse family were keen to find a solution for their furniture business that would give it a lasting future, and in September 2022 decided to sell it to XXXLutz Suisse.

2022