VBank Vontobel AG
Four stars: a clean ten-year record, protected deposits and a desk for external managers.
Why Vontobel has four stars
Vontobel has a four-star overall rating. The editorial assessment was five stars. Its strongest point concerns statutory custody protections, published custody terms and the absence of a final adverse finding against this licence holder in the records reviewed. The file documents a dedicated desk for external asset managers and family offices, with more limited public detail on the wider range of services for complex family relationships. The official assessment of the owners' home jurisdiction remains undocumented in this review.
The booking centre received 11 client ratings, averaging 1.8 out of 5. At this sample size, the client average carries 18.3% weight when it is lower than the editorial assessment. The adjustment takes the published rating from five to four stars. How the adjustment works.
Noam Cohen, Editor, Bank IntelligenceReviewed 6 November 2026, Q4 2026 edition. The rating weighs the public record together with what clients and their advisers tell us in confidence; retail products, branches and apps play no part.
Where Vontobel stands out
- No final adverse finding against this licence holder in ten years of regulatory and court records.
- Custody assets are protected by statute in the booking centre, with conditions a family should read.
- Deposits are covered by a statutory protection scheme.
- The custody terms are public and address most of what a family needs to know.
- A dedicated desk serves external asset managers and family offices.
What to weigh
- Beyond the dedicated desk, published information on the wider service offering at this booking centre is limited.
- The file does not yet include the official assessment of the owners' home jurisdiction.
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.
Regulatory and legal record
What regulators, prosecutors and courts have decided, recorded against the legal entity they named, with the status, the amounts as published and a link to the original document. Claims and investigations still under way are marked as open.
Client experience and financial standing
What clients meet at Vontobel, 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.
What clients report
No complaints register publishes figures for Bank Vontobel AG, and the Swiss Banking Ombudsman reports statistics only, not by bank. There is no regulatory censure of the bank concerning the treatment of clients.
Financial standing
| Agency | Rating | Outlook | As of | Rated company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moody's | Aa3 (deposits), A3 (issuer) | Stable (deposits), positive (issuer) | July 2026 | Bank Vontobel AG |
| Moody's | A3 (issuer) | Stable | November 2026 | Vontobel Holding AG (parent) |
In the press
- finews.ch
Vontobel: Co-Chefs reissen das Steuer herum
finews.ch reported a change of course at Vontobel under co-chief executives Christel Rendu de Lint and Georg Schubiger.
- finews.ch
Vontobel will rund 100 Millionen Franken sparen
finews.ch reported that Vontobel planned savings of about CHF 100 million.
- finews.ch
Vontobel-Chef Zeno Staub nimmt den Hut
finews.ch reported that Zeno Staub was stepping down as chief executive of Vontobel.
What Vontobel charges, compared
Vontobel publishes its fees. The figures below are its list prices, read on 6 November 2026 from the document linked at the foot of this section. 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 the bank can change its schedule at any time.
With the trades, conversions and transfers of the reference year added at list price: about USD 312,125 a year, 125 basis points.
| Fee | Vontobel | Other banks | Against the others |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custody and safekeepingeffective rate on USD 25 million | 0.30% a year0.33% at USD 10m, 0.28% at USD 50m; stated as a maximum Source | 0.30% a yearaverage of 38 other banks | around the average |
| Discretionary mandateeffective rate on USD 12.5 million, balanced profile | 1.23% a year1.24% at USD 10m, 0.98% at USD 50m; stated as a maximum Source | 1.23% a yearaverage of 25 other banks | around the average |
| Advisory mandateeffective rate on USD 12.5 million | 0.70% a year0.71% at USD 10m, 0.61% at USD 50m; stated as a maximum Source | 0.94% a yearaverage of 21 other banks | below the average |
| Equity tradecommission on a USD 250,000 trade, major exchange | 0.85%stated as a maximum Source | 0.80%average of 47 other banks | around the average |
| Bond tradecommission on a USD 500,000 trade | 0.75%stated as a maximum Source | 0.95%average of 42 other banks | below the average |
| Third party fund subscriptionfee on a USD 250,000 subscription | 0.85%stated as a maximum Source | 1.39%average of 42 other banks | among the lowest |
| Account maintenanceper year | USD 3,000 a yearCHF 2,400 per year; stated as a maximum Source | USD 1,209 a yearaverage of 26 other banks | among the most expensive |
| Outgoing international transferper transfer, standard | USD 0CHF 0 Source | USD 58average of 61 other banks | among the lowest |
| Transfer of securities to another bankper position | USD 250CHF 200 Source | USD 123average of 38 other banks | among the most expensive |
| Closing the accountone off | USD 1,875CHF 1,500; stated as a maximum Source | USD 656average of 21 other banks | among the most expensive |
Not in the published schedule: currency conversion, minimum annual fee, lombard loan margin.
Sources.
- Fees and conditions, Valid from January 1, 2025; edition EN 04 / 2025, read on 6 November 2026
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.
Identity, protection and services
Legal identity
Ownership
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.
Financial strength, as reported
Services published for this booking unit
Offered at this booking centreOffered by the group, not confirmed hereNot located, which does not mean unavailable
Checked on the bank's own pages, 2 November 2026.
Access and costs
Protection of client assets
Before opening an account
- Can our external manager trade while withdrawal authority stays with our signatories?
- Can our family office receive consolidated reporting that separates custody, trading and management costs?
Rate Vontobel
If you bank with Vontobel or advise clients who do, your experience forms part of its PPLI.com rating. Every response is read by the editor and treated in strict confidence.
Sources
All 14 documents cited on this page, by subject.
Client experience and press
Fees
- Vontobel: Bvt preisbroschuere en (PDF)vontobel.com · Fees
Identity, ownership, finances and services
- FINMA: Bewilligungstraeger (PDF)finma.ch · Licence
- Vontobel: Bank Vontobel AG financial statements 2025 (Einzelabschluss)vontobel.com · Owner
- Vontobel: Shareholder structurevontobel.com · Group parent
- Vontobel Holding Shareholder Structure 20250401 EN (PDF)am.vontobel.com · Holder of 10% or more
- Vontobelvontobel.com · Assets under management
- Vontobel: Wealth managementvontobel.com · Services
- Vontobel: Products and solutionsvontobel.com · Services
- Vontobel: Financing solutionsvontobel.com · Services
- Vontobel: Wealth servicesvontobel.com · Services
- Vontobel eam deskvontobel.com · Services
- Vontobel: Bvt basisdokumente agbs de (PDF)vontobel.com · Third party payments
The bank
- Vontobel, websitevontobel.com
For Vontobel
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 reference BK-CH-VONTOBEL-A913DB.
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 Vontobel, 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.
About this file
Researched by the PPLI.com research desk from the public sources listed. The rating is our editorial opinion; read how we rate.