CEO of $300 Billion Swiss Bank says Wealthy Clients Have Crypto Appetite

Zeno Staub, CEO of pro-crypto Swiss banking giant Vontobel, has revealed that the firm’s wealthy clients are showing an appetite for cryptocurrency exposure. Major banks in the United States, Europe, and Asia are beginning to offer structured Bitcoin (BTC) and virtual currency-related investment products to their wealth management clientele.

Wealthy Clients Keen on Adding Crypto to Investment Portfolios

In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday (July 27, 2021), Staub stated that Vontobel’s rich clients are interested in crypto investment even as the bank posted a record-breaking first half of the year. According to its H1 2021 financials published on Tuesday, Vontobel saw its assets under management grow by 11% to reach an all-time high valuation of almost $300 billion.

With crypto as a part of the bank’s investment products, it stands to reasons that virtual currency instruments contributed to Vontobel’s success in the first half of the year. Detailing the prevailing interest for cryptocurrency exposure among its wealthy clients, Staub remarked:

“Clients have an interest in digital assets, clients have an interest in cryptocurrencies […] What we offer to our clients is that we’ve wrapped some cryptocurrencies in a secure, convenient, [and] easy to handle way and clients appreciate that and allocate part of their wealth to that.”

As previously reported by BTCManager, Vontobel’s Bitcoin certificates are one of the better-known regulated crypto investment products on offer by recognized financial institutions in the market.

However, Staub stated that Vontobel is more interested in blockchain technology, adding:

“We believe that the underline technology is actually more important than certain types of applications.”

According to Staub, the bank sees blockchain as the only viable technology available today to ensure robust securitization without the need for third-party counterparty entities. Commenting on the future potential of the novel tech, the Vontobel chief remarked:

“We will see major changes coming out of that going forward.”

Big Banks Onboarding Institutional Investors

Vontobel is one of a growing list of banks and financial institutions with regulated crypto investment products on offer for rich clients. In July, Wall Street giant JPMorgan announced plans to float a cryptocurrency investment product for its affluent clients.

Apart from creating crypto investment products, banks and financial institutions are also deploying cryptocurrency custody solutions, acting as trusted custodial providers for other institutional-grade crypto investment vehicles.