UBP Private Bank

Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) is a Swiss private bank founded in 1969 by Edgar de Picciotto and remains family-owned today. That ownership structure is not incidental: it shapes how the bank operates, with a stated emphasis on prompt decision-making and the ability to act without the bureaucratic layers common in larger publicly traded institutions. For private clients and family offices, this translates into a counterparty that is not subject to the quarterly earnings pressures of a listed bank.

UBP’s wealth management offering spans private clients and institutional mandates, with eleven booking centres distributed across major financial hubs. The bank’s global footprint includes offices in:

• Geneva (headquarters and primary booking centre)
• London, Jersey, Guernsey, and Gibraltar (UK’s largest hub outside Switzerland)
• Luxembourg (European hub, serving all 27 EU member states)
• Singapore and Hong Kong (Asia coverage)
• Dubai and Monaco

The bank manages over CHF 150 billion in assets under management across more than 20 locations worldwide, with a workforce of approximately 2,094 professionals. It also maintains a dedicated external asset manager (EAM) platform, making it relevant not only to family offices managing assets directly but also to advisors and independent managers who require a custodian and banking partner with private banking depth.

For a family office evaluating UBP, the primary draw is the combination of Swiss private banking heritage, genuine family ownership, and geographic reach that covers the key booking centres used by internationally mobile wealth. The main constraint is that pricing, minimum assets, and service tier details are not disclosed publicly, requiring direct engagement to assess fit. Families with purely domestic needs in a single jurisdiction may find more specialised local alternatives sufficient.