This portfolio has quadrupled in six years

Its bank secrecy has never seemed as fragile, but the Switzerland still continues to attract large Russian fortunes. For evidence, Société Générale Private Banking (SGPB), the subsidiary of the French group wealth management, comes to recruit Confederation eight new consultants which will integrate a whole new Department dedicated to the wealthy Russian clients. In total, 28 employees distributed in Geneva and Zurich are now attached to this client line. They will work with already teams in London, Monaco and Singapore.

The Switzerland has indeed become one of the main land of Russian funds home. The Russian clients 3,000 of the Swiss subsidiary of Société Générale had thus filed around 4 billion CHF (2.8 billion) into the coffers of the Group at the end of the year 2008. This portfolio has quadrupled in six years. "And the prospects to announce positive s", explained to the Lausanne daily "L'agefi", Jean-Gabriel Arqueros, Director of the Department for Russian customer in Geneva. The private bankers at the shores of Lake Geneva hope also to receive the huge assets held by wealthy clients in the Federation of Russia satellites or in areas which are not bancarisées in the near future.

Infusion of cash

Number of Russian millionaires who mostly built their wealth through trade of raw materials, mining, metallurgy, real estate and finance, should also soon transfer part of their cash invested in London to Geneva or Zurich. The amendment to the taxation linked to the "non - UK Home" will indeed change gives, as it will be more favourable.

This likely influx of liquidity will force private banks based in Switzerland to expand their product lines. "The Russian customer service it is professionalized pronounced way, explains Jean-Gabriel Arqueros." When the fortune was largely in the hands of oligarchs is gone. Until now, customers sought security and favoured for their assets abroad, liquidity, to deal with a blow or in the case of opportunistic investments. Today, monetary deposits offering more attractive returns, they are turning to more sophisticated management. Structured financial products hold their attention, as the alternative. We respond to their increasing demands for financing of private jets and yachts, as well as financing of real estate type homes in Europe, but especially on the Côte d'Azur, Paris and London.

Moscow, city of billionaires

Geneva-based institutions are, them, even more far ranging search Russian customer in his country of origin. Lombard Odier and opened last year a representative office in Moscow, the city in the world that houses more than billionaires after New York.

This customer is also more and more population in Switzerland where the number of Russian residents from 4.637 in 1995 to 10.598 in 2008, according to the Federal Office for statistics (OFS). And many of these expatriates have large revenues. The ranking of the 300 largest fortunes in the Confederation of the magazine "Balance" revealed the presence of a dozen Russians with a heritage of more than 100 million francs. In total, assets would exceed 40 billion francs.

Last year, more than 2.5 billion was transferred from the Russia to the Switzerland, the small Alpine country making the second destination Global Fund sent abroad by Russian individuals, according to the Russian Central Bank. This money is used in the purchase of real estate.