2matters on the record across its booking centres, 2023 to 2025
2.0/543 UHNW client ratings across its booking centres
The editor's opinion
Why Pictet rates 2.6 out of 5
Pictet rates 2.6 out of 5. The figure combines the ratings of its four rated booking centres (Switzerland, two stars; Luxembourg, three stars; Hong Kong, three stars; the Bahamas, three stars), each weighted by the number of UHNW client ratings it has received, so a centre where more families bank counts for more. Luxembourg, Hong Kong and the Bahamas are the strongest at three stars; Switzerland is the weakest at two stars. Its booking entities carry two matters on the record, the most recent in 2025; each is listed below with the centre it concerns. Across its booking centres, 43 UHNW client ratings average 2.0 out of 5.
Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. Each booking centre is rated on its own file, from the public record and what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence. The overall rating brings those ratings together; retail products, branches and apps play no part.
Where Pictet stands out
Custody assets are protected by statute in the booking centre, with conditions a family should read. Switzerland, Luxembourg and Hong Kong
Deposits are covered by a statutory protection scheme. Switzerland
A broad range of private banking services is published for this booking unit. All centres
Ownership and control are fully public. All centres
No politically exposed person holds a significant stake. Switzerland
No final adverse finding against this licence holder in ten years of regulatory and court records. Luxembourg and Bahamas
Deposits are covered by a protection scheme, with limits. Luxembourg
The custody terms can be read in full before signing, including re-use of assets and sub-custodians. Hong Kong and Bahamas
The bank states publicly what it does with third-party payments. Hong Kong
The bank states its policy on third-party payments in outline. Bahamas
What to weigh
Repeated serious adverse findings against this licence holder. Switzerland and Hong Kong
The last adverse finding is recent. Switzerland and Hong Kong
Only a summary of the custody terms is public. Switzerland and Luxembourg
Only part of the tariff is published. Switzerland and Hong Kong
No public policy on third-party payments or retrocessions. Switzerland and Luxembourg
Remediation of past findings is not documented. Switzerland and Hong Kong
No fee schedule is published; pricing is given on request. Luxembourg and Bahamas
Whether independent asset managers are served by a dedicated desk is not published. Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Bahamas
Deposit protection for this booking unit is not confirmed in the documents on file. Hong Kong and Bahamas
How the law here would protect custody assets if the bank failed is not yet documented in this file. Bahamas
Switzerland · Banque Pictet & Cie SA18 client ratings · 42% of the weight
Luxembourg · Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG, succursale de Luxembourg3 client ratings · 7% of the weight
Hong Kong · Banque Pictet & Cie SA, Hong Kong Branch11 client ratings · 26% of the weight
Bahamas · Pictet Bank & Trust Limited11 client ratings · 25% of the weight
PPLI.com rating, weighted across the centres2.6
Each booking centre keeps its own rating, set on its own file. The overall rating is the average of those ratings, weighted by the number of UHNW client ratings each centre has received. A centre whose rating is still in preparation is shown but not counted.
The rating expresses the opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown. It is not a statement of fact about the bank, not a credit rating, not a forecast of failure and not investment advice.
The booking centres
Pictet in 4 booking centres
Each booking centre is a separate legal entity, with its own licence, deposit protection, services and fees, and keeps its own PPLI.com rating. Everything on file for them is brought together on this page; open a centre for its own file.
What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided against the booking entities of Pictet, gathered from the files of all its booking centres, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Each entry names the centre it concerns. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.
202517 June 2025
Penalty order for organisational failings that allowed Petrobras-linked money laundering
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland convicted Banque Pictet & Cie SA by summary penalty order of organisational shortcomings in relation to aggravated money laundering, under Art. 102 para. 2 of the Swiss Criminal Code, and fined it CHF 2 million. Between June 2010 and May 2013 the bank approved and processed 54 transfers totalling more than USD 4.1 million linked to corrupt payments connected with Petrobras, without classifying the accounts as high risk or monitoring the transfers. A former head of its Brazilian market received a six-month suspended sentence, charges of complicity in bribery were dropped against both, and neither appealed.
Deferred prosecution agreement, conspiracy to help US taxpayers hide assets and income (2008 to 2014 conduct)
Banque Pictet admitted conspiring with US taxpayers to hide assets and income and entered a deferred prosecution agreement filed in the Southern District of New York, paying about USD 122.9 million. Prosecution is deferred for three years, after which the US will seek dismissal if the bank complies. The release also names other Pictet Group entities (Luxembourg, Singapore, Bahamas and Rhone Trust and Fiduciary Services SA) in the 2008 to 2014 conduct.
Banque Pictet entered into a deferred prosecution agreement
Release says the bank implemented remedial measures to protect against use of its services for future tax evasion and must cooperate fully with further investigations.
Booking centres: Switzerland · Banque Pictet & Cie SA; Hong Kong · Banque Pictet & Cie SA, Hong Kong BranchUS Department of Justice (Tax Division, with US Attorney SDNY)Resolution with admissionTotal payment USD 122.9 million; Of which gross fees (forfeiture-type component) USD 52.2 million; Of which restitution to the irs USD 31.8 million; Of which penalty USD 39 millionAdmission of the factsPrimary source
Clients and standing
Client experience and financial standing
What clients meet at Pictet across its booking centres, read from complaint registers, ombudsman decisions and court records, independent reporting and what clients and their advisers tell PPLI.com in confidence. Announcements by the bank, awards and marketing material are left out.
UHNW client ratings
2.0 out of 5, based on 43 client ratings across its booking centres.
Switzerland2.2 out of 518 ratings
Luxembourg3.7 out of 53 ratings
Hong Kong1.4 out of 511 ratings
Bahamas1.7 out of 511 ratings
What clients report
Switzerland. No complaints register publishes figures for Banque Pictet & Cie SA, and the Swiss Banking Ombudsman reports statistics only, without naming banks. In New York, a USD 350 million suit brought by Rasheed al Rushaid against Pictet and its partners over about USD 4.06 million of bribes involving former staff of his firm, three of whom had been convicted in Geneva, was dismissed on forum non conveniens grounds. That outcome was reported by finews.asia on 16 January 2019, and the court found that US courts were not the right forum without ruling on the claim itself.
Luxembourg. Since 26 May 2023 Luxembourg clients have banked with a branch of the Frankfurt-based Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG rather than with a Luxembourg company.
Hong Kong. The public sources we follow show no client complaint, court claim or incident involving this bank.
Bahamas. The bank has no Trustpilot profile, and no claim by a private client against it has reached a published judgment.
Worth raising with the bank
Switzerland. Ask whether the bank expects the US deferred prosecution agreement of December 2023 to end on schedule in December 2026, and which obligations on US-connected accounts continue after it.
Switzerland. Ask what changed in high-risk account classification and transfer monitoring after the June 2025 penalty order over the Petrobras-linked transfers of 2010 to 2013.
Luxembourg. Ask which supervisor and which deposit protection scheme now cover accounts at the Luxembourg branch, since the European bank moved its seat to Frankfurt in May 2023.
Luxembourg. Ask whether the Petrobras-related failings sanctioned against the Swiss parent in June 2025 involved any accounts or staff of the European bank.
Hong Kong. Ask whether the US deferred prosecution agreement of December 2023 places any continuing obligations or restrictions on US-connected clients booked through the Hong Kong branch.
Bahamas. Ask whether any accounts booked with the bank were among the undeclared US accounts covered by the December 2023 deferred prosecution agreement of Banque Pictet et Cie SA, and what policy the bank now applies to US persons.
Financial standing
Credit ratings published by the agencies for the companies named in the centre files, dated by the latest agency or bank document that confirms them
Armin Eiche, head of Pictet Wealth Management in Germany since 2011, became chief executive of Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG on 1 January 2025, succeeding Christian Schröder.
Banque Pictet & Cie SA in Geneva agreed to pay USD 122.9 million under a US deferred prosecution agreement and admitted helping US clients hide income and assets in 1,637 accounts.
The European bank moved its seat from Luxembourg to Frankfurt with legal effect on 26 May 2023, and the Luxembourg business became a branch keeping about 350 staff.
WealthBriefingAsia reported that Pictet Asset Services would close its booking centres for independent asset managers in the Bahamas, Hong Kong and Singapore at the end of 2018, moving custodian work done from Nassau to Geneva and Luxembourg.
What it costs
What Pictet charges, centre by centre
Fees are set by each booking entity, so they are shown centre by centre. Two of the four centres of Pictet publish a fee schedule, read on 6 November 2026 from the documents linked under each table. To compare banks fairly we put every published fee in US dollars at the same indicative rates and apply it to the same reference amounts, then rate each fee against the average of the other banks that publish it. Five stars is the lowest fee, one star the highest. Terms a family actually negotiates are often different, and a bank can change its schedule at any time.
The published fees side by side
Fee
Switzerland
Hong Kong
Other banks
Outgoing international transferper transfer, standard
USD 50
USD 50
USD 57average of 61 other banks
Transfer of securities to another bankper position
USD 100
USD 100
USD 127average of 38 other banks
Currency conversionmargin on a USD 1 million spot conversion
Not in the schedule
1.10%
0.70%average of 30 other banks
Each fee is rated against the average of the other banks that publish it: five stars is the lowest, one star the highest. The schedules, their dates and what each leaves out are listed centre by centre below.
Not in the published schedule: custody and safekeeping, discretionary mandate, advisory mandate, equity trade, bond trade, third party fund subscription, currency conversion, account maintenance, minimum annual fee, closing the account, lombard loan margin.
Luxembourg · Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG, succursale de LuxembourgCentre file
Pricing not published
No fee schedule is published for this booking centre.
Hong Kong · Banque Pictet & Cie SA, Hong Kong BranchCentre file
Not in the published schedule: custody and safekeeping, discretionary mandate, advisory mandate, equity trade, bond trade, third party fund subscription, account maintenance, minimum annual fee, closing the account, lombard loan margin.
Third party payments. The schedule states: “Pictet and/or its associates may receive rebates or retrocessions from product issuers.”
No fee schedule is published for this booking centre.
How the comparison works: USD 25 million booked with the bank: half under a discretionary balanced mandate, half in custody with advice; 24 equity trades of USD 250,000 and 8 bond trades of USD 500,000 a year; 6 currency conversions of USD 1 million; 24 outgoing international transfers. Tiered fees are applied to those amounts tranche by tranche, stated minimums are applied, and amounts are converted at indicative rates of 2026-11-06. Read how we compare fees.
The bank at a glance
Identity, protection and services
Ownership
Group parentPictet Group (société en commandite par actions; top company commonly named Pictet & Cie Group SCA - name not confirmed in the source read) Source
ControlThe seven Managing Partners of the Pictet Group (Marc Pictet, Laurent Ramsey, Sébastien Eisinger, Elif Aktuğ, François Pictet, Sven Holstenson, Raymond Sagayam), together with 42 Equity Partners; owned by its partners Source (1 April 2026)
Ownership is shown as published, with its date. It describes who owns the bank; it does not, by itself, suggest any wrongdoing by the bank or its owners.
LuxembourgBank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG, succursale de LuxembourgBaFin/ECB (home, licence holder Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG, Frankfurt); CSSF (host, Luxembourg branch) · Branch of Bank Pictet & Cie (Europe) AG, Frankfurt am Main (LEI 549300GSSPQ1QSKI1376)Licence: Luxembourg branch of a German credit institution; activity: 'toutes les activités bancaires et de crédit conformément à l'annexe 1 de la loi luxembourgeoise du 5 avril 1993' Source
Hong KongBanque Pictet & Cie SA, Hong Kong BranchHKMA (licensed bank incorporated outside Hong Kong); home supervisor FINMA · Branch of Banque Pictet & Cie SA · LEI 4LCYDN74UCFU5VPM4774Licence: Licensed bank, incorporated outside Hong Kong (branch of Banque Pictet & Cie SA, Geneva) Source
BahamasPictet Bank & Trust LimitedCentral Bank of The Bahamas · Locally incorporated subsidiary · LEI 549300K4BLURJJ58VL85Licence: Bank and trust licence: SFI list entry 'LIC0095 Pictet Bank & Trust Ltd. Non-Resident Bank & Trust Not an Authorized researcher or Authorized Dealer' (section Other Public Licensees) Source
Financial strength, as reported
Credit ratingsFitch AA- / F1+; Moody's Aa2 / P-1
Total capital ratio21.6% (capital described as almost entirely CET1); LCR 191% (31 Dec 2025) Source
Assets under management or custodyCHF 757 bn (CHF 810 bn at 30 June 2026 per home page) (31 Dec 2025) Source
Services published across its booking centres
Private clientsSwitzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong and Bahamas
Offered at one or more booking centresOffered by the group, not confirmed at a centreNot located, which does not mean unavailable Checked on the bank's own pages for each centre.
Access and costs
Minimum relationshipSwitzerland:Not published Luxembourg:Not published Hong Kong:Not published Bahamas:Not published
US personsSwitzerland: Accepted with restrictions Luxembourg: Accepted with restrictions Hong Kong: Not published Bahamas: Not published
Third party paymentsSwitzerland: Not published Luxembourg: Not published Hong Kong: Published Source Bahamas: Published Source
Transfer out termsSwitzerland: Not published Luxembourg: Not published Hong Kong: Published Source Bahamas: Published Source
Protection of client assets
Deposit protectionSwitzerland: All banks with a Swiss office must be members of esisuisse: privileged deposits are protected up to CHF 100,000 per client per bank, including non-resident clients and foreign currency deposits, within a system cap. Luxembourg: A Luxembourg branch of a bank from another EU state is covered by its home state scheme, not the FGDL; the home scheme limit is also EUR 100,000. Hong Kong and Bahamas: Not published
Custody lawSwitzerland: Swiss Banking Act art. 37d: custody assets held for clients are separated from the bankrupt bank's estate and handed over to the clients, with privileged deposits protected under arts. 37a and 37h. Luxembourg: Law of 1 August 2001 on the circulation of securities: securities held on account are an intangible interest of the account holders and are claimed collectively from the liquidator, with any shortfall shared pro rata (Arts 3(1), 10(1), 10(2)). Rules on re-use were not located in the statute text read. Hong Kong: Client securities held by licensed or registered persons must be safeguarded under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and the Securities and Futures (Client Securities) Rules, as referenced in SFC Code of Conduct para 11.1. Bahamas: Not published
Custody termsSwitzerland and Luxembourg: Not published Hong Kong: Published Source Bahamas: Published Source
Before opening an account
Custody agreement. The applicable legal framework is set out above. Ask for the agreement that would govern your account and check how securities are titled, whether any sub-custodian is used, and when the bank may take a lien. Switzerland and Luxembourg
Account eligibility. Ask for the opening and ongoing minimum for the service you need, and confirm whether the bank measures it per account, per legal entity or across the family relationship. Switzerland and Luxembourg
Exit costs. The fee comparison shows USD 100 per position for a securities transfer. Ask what rate would apply to your mandate and whether the receiving bank or a sub-custodian would charge separately. See published fees. Switzerland and Hong Kong
Transferring assets out. Ask which positions can be transferred without selling them, who approves exceptions, and how charges are calculated for each position and market. Luxembourg
Moving the portfolio. Use the published transfer terms as a starting point. Ask the bank to flag positions in your portfolio that would require consent, manual handling or a sale, and to quote the charges separately. Hong Kong and Bahamas
Cross-border eligibility. If a settlor, beneficiary or beneficial owner has U.S. ties, ask the named entity to confirm eligibility for your structure and which investment services it can provide. Hong Kong
Working with your adviser. The external-manager capability is documented at group level. Ask which entity would sign the mandate, whether your manager can trade directly, and which instructions must come from you. Bahamas
Written pricing. Ask for a quote that covers the account you would actually open, including fees charged by third parties and the cost of moving assets out. Bahamas
Your experience
Rate Pictet
If you bank with Pictet in any of its booking centres, or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Please say which centre you deal with. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.
Before we publish a significant negative finding that is not already public, we give the bank the facts and time to comment, on the same timetable for every bank. Decisions of regulators and courts are shown as they were published. Corrections we verify are published with the date of the change. Write to [email protected] quoting the reference of the booking centre concerned: Switzerland BK-CH-PICTET-2E9EA7; Luxembourg BK-LU-PICTET-EUROPE-2CFAA5; Hong Kong BK-HK-PICTET-HK-22A861; Bahamas BK-BS-PICTET-BAHAMAS-F90EF8.
Reviewing this file with us
Families and their advisers read this file before they open an account. It can only be as complete as the documents we can find, and much of what sets a private bank apart, from its custody terms to the way a client team works, is rarely published.
If you represent Pictet, one of our Bank Intelligence analysts can go through the file with you: correct anything that is out of date, add terms and documents that are not yet public, and set out what has improved since our last edition. The review is a paid engagement for the analyst's time and research.
The rating itself stays with our editor and follows what the documents show, so we cannot promise a particular result. When a review changes the file, this page notes that the bank took part, with the date and what was added.
Brought together by the PPLI.com research desk from the files of its booking centres and the public sources listed. The rating is our editorial opinion; read how the overall rating is built.
Important information. Editorial opinion of PPLI.com on the date shown, based on public information, client experience and editorial judgment. Not a statement of fact, a credit rating or investment, legal, tax or financial advice; verify with the bank and your own advisers before acting. No liability is accepted for reliance on this content. Bank names and logos are used for identification only. Ratings are updated every quarter. This is the Q4 2026 edition, and a rating can change between editions if something material happens. Full disclaimer
Rating signed by Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026Methodology 2.4Overall rating weighted by UHNW client ratings
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