The Swiss and French branches are leveraging the family name in a bid to control the global wealth-management market.
The Rothschild family’s Swiss and French branches are battling for dominance in the wealth management industry, which is causing tension and sparking speculation of a merger that would significantly impact the global financial landscape, Bloomberg wrote this week.
The Swiss private bank, Edmond de Rothschild Group, and the smaller French lender, Rothschild & Co., are the only remaining banks with links to the family whose name has been a synonym for wealth and power for more than two centuries.
The Rothschild family emerged from the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt in the 19th century to become one of the world’s richest and most powerful financial dynasties that bankrolled wars and empires, and helped shape Europe’s economic and political history.
After decades of operating in relatively different segments, the Swiss and French branches are now targeting the same wealthy clients. The odds of a merger within the renowned family are now rising as both banks are fighting for a bigger share of the $250 trillion global wealth management industry, the outlet said.
“They are now targeting similar clients,” said Christoph Kunzle, a lecturer on wealth management at Zurich University of Applied Sciences. “It’s very competitive and their centuries-old name is a big asset that they are both trying to leverage.”
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