The term private banker or private bankers (our official name is Bordier & Cie, Private Bankers) denotes a bank incorporated in the legal form of a partnership or limited partnership. It differs from other banks which likewise offer wealth management services but take the form of limited companies (SA), in which maximum liability is confined to their equity capital. In the case of private bankers, the partners bear unlimited personal liability for all the commitments entered into by their bank. The status of partner is handed down from generation to generation with a view to safeguarding the permanence of the business. At Bordier & Cie, the 5th generation of the Bordier family is at the controls today.

Private bankers are the oldest form of business in the Swiss banking system. Originally, wholesalers, commission agents or shippers, they handled credit transactions and bills of exchange in relation to the trade in goods. In the course of history, names of prestigious figures and families came to prominence; they were the illustrious precursors of today's private bankers.

In a world of increasingly keen competition, perpetuation of the Bordier & Cie tradition will retain its full significance. The necessary competencies are evolving, but the qualities needed to guide the house will remain the tenacity of its founder, the breadth of views and integrity of his descendants and the creativity of the partners and management!

Precursors of the private bankers
Among these precursors, Cosmo de Medici set up one of the very first banking counters in the 15th century, in Basel, when the Council was held in that city.
With the reformation in the 16th century and the emergence of Calvinism, persecuted Protestants came in large numbers from all over Europe, mostly from France and Italy, to seek refuge in Geneva. They included a number of bankers who soon began to deploy their talents here. In the 18th century, the Genevan private banker, Jacques Necker, became famous for his appointment by Louis 16th, the King of France, to the post of Director General of the Royal Finances.
Today, many private bankers can still trace their origins back to the 18th century. At that time, they acted as all- purpose bankers, serving the credit needs of their customers. Until the onset of the industrial era, private bankers were the most important and influential players in the entire banking system.

The industrial revolution
However, with the rapid growth of industry in the second half of the 19th century, they could no longer satisfy the growing demand for financing instruments by retaining a legal form typified by the unlimited liability of their partners. As a result, and often at the initiative of private bankers, the first credit banks were established in the form of limited companies. While the latter grew, the number of private bankers fell. However, this reduction in the number of establishments was accompanied by a significant increase in their size. Many of them acquired an international dimension.

Private bankers, specialists in wealth management
For private bankers, the first third of the 20th century was a period of great prosperity which saw the issue of loans by public authorities and trade in commercial bills. Private bankers were extremely active after the First World War in placing these loans, acting in liaison with several American banks. But this period also saw economic depression and political changes accompanied by banking crises which decimated the number of banking houses. With the adoption of the Banking Act in 1934, the relatively extensive field of action of the banks was restricted with a view to ensuring more effective protection of creditors through the requirement of a solid capital base. At the same time, the private bankers obtained banking and legal privileges thanks to their corporate structure.
During and after the Second World War, private bankers consolidated their specialisation in stock market transactions and trade in securities and become globally acknowledged experts in wealth management.
Since the nineteen-nineties, the Swiss private bankers have experienced a phase of rapid development of their business and some of them have greatly expanded their operations abroad. The assets managed by the members of the Association of Swiss Private Bankers have also grown substantially.