Switzerland-headquartered Mirabaud has commenced Spanish banking operations, operating under its Mirabaud & Cie name.

Switzerland-headquartered Mirabaud has commenced Spanish banking operations, operating under its Mirabaud & Cie (Europe) SA, Sucursal en España name. The firm has already had offices operating in the country for over three years.

The new entity is set up as a Luxembourg-based bank with a branch structure and a permanent presence in Spain. It began this new phase on 1 January, and forms part of the banking network that has already been rolled out by Mirabaud Group in the European Union (Spain, France, Luxemburg and the UK).

"The banking structure gives an added value to our customers but always keeping our key strategy: independence, customisation and custom work on a model of open architecture,” Antonio Palma, partner at Mirabaud & Cie (Europe), said in a statement yesterday.

The Spanish business is led by Francisco Gómez-Trenor, president and chief executive. He will be joined by Alvaro Lucas Javier Nieto as commercial director, Manuel Balanzat as business development director, Luis Pujol as chief financial officer and operations, and Marcelino Blanco as head of the legal department and wealth management.

Mirabaud initially opened offices in Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Madrid more than three years ago. In July, Mirabaud expanded its Madrid team with the appointments of Juan Manuel Gutierrez Bernaldo de Quirós, José Luis Ruiz Gonzalez and Ana Echarri Sarasola.

Last summer, Mirabaud joined fellow Swiss private banks Pictet and Lombard Odier in revealing its profit figures to the public for the first time following a change to its legal structure. Geneva-based Mirabaud said that for the first six months of the year assets under management were SFr27 billion ($29.47 billion), up from SFr26 billion at the end of last year, while operating profit was SFr25.8 million.

To see a two-part feature by WealthBriefing on Spain, click here and here.