Colombus Consulting has published the fourth edition of its study on the digitalisation of customer relations in Swiss private banking, conducted with a panel of nearly 30 major players in the sector. The study notes that the explosion of AI is driving increasingly rapid change. There is still time, and it is more necessary than ever, for private banks to prepare themselves to face the new digital challenges that this brings.
The 2024 ranking remains largely unchanged, with the top five standing out from the rest of the panel.
The quartet comprising Vontobel, Julius Bär, Lombard Odier and Pictet dominates the rankings once again this year. The high traffic on their websites allows them to benefit from a snowball effect across all the dimensions studied and to generate organic or paid traffic that redirects customers to their digital platforms (web, mobile, social media, etc.). Alpian’s remarkable arrival in the top of the rankings in 2023 has been confirmed this year, demonstrating the bank’s innovative nature.
Beyond the changes in the rankings, web traffic growth is positive for the entire panel (+10% with nearly 590 million monthly visitors) and the performance of the various e-banking platforms has improved considerably. This is reflected in particular in stronger audience engagement (+17%).
However, the banks surveyed still have some way to go in terms of digitalisation, particularly in the areas of digital marketing and mobile app management, where progress remains limited.
Lombard Odier and Vontobel stand out, however, with regularly updated and highly rated apps, while new entrants such as Alpian offer modern features such as in-app video calling.
Social media: a new era has begun, dominated by LinkedIn
While the number of subscribers remained stable in 2023, this year’s study shows a 32% increase on social media. The slowdown observed on Facebook (+9%) is largely offset by LinkedIn (+42%, reaching 77% of the total social media audience), followed by YouTube and Instagram (+20% and +17%). X (formerly Twitter), on the other hand, no longer seems to be attracting crowds (+0.2%). In 2024, the emergence of video content presenting banks’ convictions in terms of market outlook and investment attracted a new audience to these media. Overall, the topics most frequently covered in the content remained CSR and ESG.
The study also highlights communication efforts on other topics such as sport and the charitable commitments of key players. Although this type of information attracts a new audience, it generates very little engagement and does not encourage interaction with their communities.
‘The quest for interaction with the community is set to intensify and will require banks to focus on developing new types of digital content such as webcasts and white papers. However, these will need to be based on a sufficiently clear and differentiated strategic positioning in order to be shared publicly,’ explains Brewen Latimier, manager at Colombus Consulting Switzerland.
Responsible digital technology: falling behind?
In recent years, private banks have embraced ESG criteria, with sustainable development becoming an important feature of banking products, particularly funds.
‘We have incorporated the concept of responsible digital technology into our study and have clearly observed that private banks have underinvested in this area, whereas neo-banks are paying more attention to it,’ adds Jean Meneveau, Associate Director at Colombus Consulting.
Banks finally ready to make their tools available to customers
‘The arrival of digital neo-banks has permanently changed the way we “consume” banking. Customers now want digital tools throughout their banking journey,’ explains Jean Meneveau. This includes digital services for reporting, order placement and interactions with account managers.
Digital solution providers have understood this and now offer B2B2C tools that banks can use for their own accounts and make available to their customers (online KYC, electronic signatures, portfolio simulation and impact analysis, order placement).
New technologies and private banks: towards more specific and personalised recommendations
Private bank advisors greatly benefit from new technologies, which are revolutionising the way they interact with their clients and manage their portfolios. Thanks to tools such as PMS, CRM, e-banking and generative artificial intelligence, they can produce and offer more accurate and personalised recommendations. These technologies offer better customer insight (e.g. AirWealth by Avaloq), improved banking services, particularly in terms of simulations and portfolio management (e.g. Swissquant), and faster and higher-quality responses internally and to clients. However, the adoption of these new technologies faces certain challenges, such as sharing customer data with third-party tools, compliance with banking secrecy and change management within financial institutions.
Private Banking and AI: Towards a New Era of Efficiency and Compliance
Over the past year, many banks have launched AI initiatives with varying degrees of real impact on their operations. Pictet has taken the lead over its competitors with the launch of One.chat, a solution developed with Zurich-based start-up Unique to optimise productivity, and the launch of an AI-powered fund designed to generate outperformance. These use cases show that players have embraced AI for internal purposes. For the time being, there are no initiatives involving client data, demonstrating, if proof were needed, that confidentiality remains a key concern for Swiss private banks.
Digital Index: The overall digital performance of the sector
Here we present the overall ranking from the Colombus Consulting Digital Index, which measures the 360° digital performance of private banks according to 50 indicators (web, mobile, marketing and social). The results show very different situations among the players.
Methodology
Study based on a panel of 30 major players in the private banking sector, based on measurements taken in the first quarter of 2025.
Private banks surveyed: Alpian, Banque Bonhôte & Cie SA, Banque Cramer & Cie, Bergos, Baumann & Cie, BNP Paribas Private Banking, Bordier & Cie, CA Indosuez, Compagnie Bancaire Helvétique, Edmond de Rothschild, EFG, Gonet & Cie, Hinduja Bank, Hyposwiss, J. Safra Sarasin, Julius Bär, LGT, Lombard Odier & Cie, Maerki Baumann & Co. AG, Mirabaud, Oddo BHF, Piguet Galland, Pictet & Cie, Reyl Intesa San Paolo, Rahn & Bodmer, Rothschild & Co, Syz, Thaler, Union Bancaire Privée, Vontobel
- Website: audience, performance (bounce rate, visit duration and loading time, core web vitals), customer experience (design, content and features), responsible digital practices (EcoIndex)
- Mobile apps: updates, comments and ratings, NPS (Net Promoter Score), store listings
- Digital marketing: SEO, display, email, social media, partners
- Social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram
Solutions used:
We used various market research tools and reworked all the data into an index that provides a simple, visual benchmark for the sector. The solutions chosen are: Decodeapps, Similar Web, Semrush, Builtwith, Google, PageSpeed Insights and EcoIndex.
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