Page 4 - Maerki Baumann & Co. AG | Annual Report 2020

The persistent strength of our bank’s capital base also proved a considerable advantage in the pandemic year of 2020. Indeed, our BIS tier 1 ratio of more than 24% remains more than double the regulatory minimum. Therefore, we have a solid basis for future growth, as well as for targeted investment in the modern technolo- gies we are keen to put at the disposal of our clients. For example, over the last few months we have expanded our activities as a centre of crypto expertise in a tar- geted way, adapting these to client needs. In so doing, we have further improved our position in this still young, challenging area of finance. At the same time, we man- aged to strengthen our presence in the German mar- ket in 2020. Our CEO Stephan Zwahlen provides you with more details about this and other initiatives in his own report.
In January of this year, our mother, Raymonde Syz- Abegg, passed away. Following the premature death of our father, she was the majority shareholder as well as a board member of our bank for many years. With her per- sonal drive and farsightedness, she ensured that Maerki Baumann remained an independent private bank during this period, capable of weathering all the storms of this era. We are eternally grateful to our mother not just for her life’s service, but also for having the foresight to ini- tiate – and bring to a successful conclusion – a change of generation in the shareholder base. This has enabled
my sister and me to continue what our parents created: a private, family-owned bank committed not just to tra- dition, but also to the modern needs of its clients. The impact of our mother’s work therefore remains a model and an incentive for us in equal measure.
There is no question that 2021 too will present all of us with a number of major challenges. At the time of writing, the pandemic has emphatically not been mastered. Muta- tions of COVID-19 and the possibility of a third wave con- tinue to cast long shadows. Our everyday lives are sub- ject to major restrictions decreed by the authorities; and while we might not always perceive the logic behind some of these measures, we obviously comply with them in both our personal and professional lives. Ever since the start of the pandemic, our bank has had a comprehensive protec- tive concept in place, which has now proven itself. Thanks to our modern IT infrastructure, the majority of contacts and discussions between us and our clients have long been taking place virtually or over the telephone. None- theless, I – and probably all my colleagues – feel a grow- ing need to be able to meet people in person once again, both inside and outside of the bank. A trusting relation- ship of the kind that Maerki Baumann seeks to cultivate with its clients needs interpersonal contact of this kind. Despite all the warnings of mutations and other such gloomy news, I am confident that we will take a major step towards normality over the course of this year so
4 Maerki Baumann & Co. AG