Interview of Marcos Esteve, CEO of Banque Heritage, by Jérôme Sicard, Editor-in-Chief, SPHERE

When launching Heritage, your own bank, what solutions and services was the Esteve family looking for?

We come from a family that has been active in commodities trading for nearly two centuries, starting with cotton, then moving on to coffee and cocoa. Our operations span five continents. Due to our international scale and the growing complexity of our activities, we quickly came up against the limitations of traditional financial institutions, which weren't really delivering answers suited to our needs.

The problem was not so much access to products as their suitability. We had the sense that we were being sold in-house solutions first and foremost, with layers of fees that were hard to read, and a real information asymmetry. On top of that came a fundamental issue: the absence of a consolidated view. Each bank managed one pocket, without understanding our structure as a whole. And when you hold industrial assets, private equity, real estate and liquidity, that fragmentation becomes a risk in itself.

Heritage was therefore initially conceived as a family office, an internal tool to centralise, understand and make better decisions. The banking model came later, as we co-invested with other families and structured more complex transactions.

On that note, in the current environment, is it better to be a bank or a multi-family office?

The distinction has become largely theoretical. What matters today is not status, but the ability to deliver. A multi-family office brings independence and a global perspective, but it also relies on banking infrastructure. A bank has the tools, but it can also be constrained by its model.

We have chosen not to choose. The banking licence gives us robustness and depth, particularly in lending or certain regulated activities, but we also operate as an independent manager, with assets held across several institutions.

This model lets us preserve complete freedom in our allocations while offering a service range that aims to be comprehensive. Above all, it prevents us from falling back into the biases we were specifically seeking to overcome when we launched Heritage.

What have been the key moments in the bank’s transformation over the last few years?

There have been several phases, but the turning point began with a realisation. We had to stop being hybrid by accident and become so by design. We therefore started by establishing a very clear positioning. We are not a private bank like any other. We are a family bank, built by families, for families. This changes everything in terms of how we approach service, risk, and even client relationships.

Then came structural milestones. The 2019 merger with Sallfort, another family bank, enabled us to reach a new milestone, particularly in terms of critical mass. Our international expansion, particularly in Uruguay, also served as a testing ground. There, we built a different, more entrepreneurial model, centred on private banking and corporate finance.

Today, the most visible transformation is operational. Digitalisation gets talked about a great deal and, in practice, it has become indispensable. Whilst some institutions remain bogged down in lengthy processes, the ability to open an account quickly and seamlessly gives us an immediate competitive edge.

What are the differentiating factors on which you wish to base your development?

The first is alignment. It’s a word that’s often overused, but for us, it’s very real. We invest in the same strategies as our clients, which profoundly changes the relationship, as the investment decision is no longer abstract.

The second is our ability to handle complexity. Wealth today is no longer linear. It is hybrid, international and often illiquid. Understanding cash flows, liquidity needs and investment cycles has become essential.

Finally, there is the concept of comprehensiveness. For a long time, private banking was content to manage only a portion of a client’s wealth: their financial assets. Today, that is insufficient. If you don't understand what the client owns elsewhere — their businesses, their income, even their debts — you cannot really construct a relevant allocation.

How does your family office culture translate into how you manage?

Above all, it imposes discipline. A family office thinks in terms of generations, not in quarters. This results in much more rigorous risk management, a better understanding of cycles, and a certain humility when it comes to the markets. This culture is also reflected in aspects that are perhaps a little less visible. Family governance, for instance, is often a decisive factor in investment decisions. We have clients who structure their wealth to avoid dilution effects or poor succession planning. And then there is a very simple principle: we do nothing for our clients that we would not do for ourselves. This is also what underpins the credibility of our approach.

What place do services beyond financial asset management hold today?

They have become central, given that portfolio management has now largely become commoditised. What makes the difference is the ability to structure, coordinate and provide an overall view. We spend a great deal of time on consolidation, analysing external performance, and gaining a clear understanding of actual costs. But we also focus on areas such as retirement, wealth transfer and asset structuring. Within this logic, the development of wealth planning emerges as a natural extension. It means supporting clients on these fundamental issues in a structured manner, rather than merely on the sidelines. This is where value is created. However important it may be, financial asset management is now just one element of a much broader framework.

How has the role of a private bank evolved over the last ten years?

It has changed in nature. Previously, part of the value proposition rested on opacity or, shall we say, discretion. Today, the opposite is true. Clients expect total transparency from us, both on costs and on decisions. Performance has become non-negotiable. And above all, the bank must be able to put this performance into context, explain it and defend it. Finally, the relationship has evolved. It is more ongoing, more demanding, and more strategic. Clients no longer want just a advisor; they want a partner.

Do multi-family offices and independent asset managers represent a threat or an opportunity for you?

An opportunity, clearly. The market is moving towards greater specialisation and collaboration. Independent managers bring expertise, proximity and, at times, an agility that banks do not always possess. We already work with over a hundred of them. The key is to organise this relationship in a structured way, without conflicts of interest, and with genuine complementarity. In the long run, I think we will see major independent players emerge, resulting from consolidation. The landscape is being redrawn.

What do you think will be the key factors for success for a bank like Heritage?

A holistic understanding of the client will remain the determining factor for us. There are fundamentals that build on this idea. These include, for example, the quality of our teams, our ability to recruit experienced professionals, and the consistency of the model we have put in place.

I would add a point that strikes me as just as decisive. You have to be able and willing to say no. Today, the real luxury is to turn down a client or a transaction that doesn't meet our standards. It is a sign of maturity and a condition of longevity.

In ten years’ time, what do you want Banque Heritage to look like?

We want to remain an institution true to our DNA – independent and entrepreneurial – recognised as a partner of choice by the families who turn to us. The aim is not to grow at any cost, but to become more relevant by strengthening our presence in Switzerland, which has become a strategic market, whilst preserving our ability to manage complex international situations. Ultimately, at the risk of repeating myself, what matters is not our size, but the coherence of our model.

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