61


On the shores of Lac Léman, the building is minutes away from Geneva city centre


kind of experience we wanted to give to our clients,’ says Rochat. ‘We operate in a very competitive environment, and we believe in stressing our differences. One of these dif- ferences is that we are an important bank, but we are not the largest bank.’ One of the key considerations, therefore,


was to create an environment in which cli- ents would not feel as if they are entering some vast corporate workspace, but rather somewhere they can feel ‘at home’. This element of the project was handled by Paris-based interior designer Rodolphe Parente, whose CV includes work for Piaget and Armani Privé.


Clients will enter the building through a


grand, modern security door with a pillar that bears one of the few instances of overt


branding anywhere in the building – eight large bronze-coloured ‘fleurons’, the bank’s compass-like logo. Once inside, they will find themselves in a lobby that is deliberate- ly much darker than the rest of the building, but warmly lit. Then they will progress to the homely client meeting rooms with com- fortable soſt furnishings, natural clay walls, original artworks and, of course, that spec- tacular view.


D


espite the huge windows, the rooms are private, quiet and the ideal set- ting for what the bank’s chief brand-


ing officer Fabio Mancone describes as ‘our privileged field of operation’: working close- ly with entrepreneurs and ‘big families’. Sit- ting in one of the client meeting rooms,


Mancone, who has held senior roles at Ralph Lauren and Giorgio Armani, says that ‘the role of the banker is becoming more and more like an adviser; someone who is really there at every moment of their life.’ ‘What we try to become, more and more, is that person of confidence and trust who is next to them in every step of their opera- tion. It can be the [sale] of their companies, accession, divorces. Whatever happens, you have to be there to advise. I think that’s real- ly the expectation at the highest level.’ Parente agrees. The details have been


chosen to give clients a sense of care. ‘And when you are in this condition, you can ap- proach intimacy,’ he adds. ‘It’s so important to close the door, leave everything outside, and be connected with your banker.’


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116