Lombard Odier Group has invested in Taurus, a Switzerland-based provider of digital infrastructure for banks, asset managers and stock exchanges.
Taurus is a fintech that specialises in blockchain and digital asset solutions. It was created in April 2018 in Geneva and founded by senior executives from financial services.
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Its partnership with Lombard Odier is the latest in a long journey of digital transformation for the Swiss banking group. In 2017, Lombard Odier completed its first bond transaction utilising blockchain.
Alexandre Zeller, managing partner and head of technology and operations at Lombard Odier, said: “Lombard Odier has always taken a strategic approach to building its own proprietary banking technology and fostering innovation. Through this engagement, we are confident that Lombard Odier will remain at the forefront of technological developments in the field of Blockchain and digital assets, enhancing our offering for clients and third parties using our platform.”
Lombard Odier reported positive results in 2019, with strong net inflows and growth in earnings.
The firm’s client assets as of 31 December 2019 totalled CHF299bn, an increase of 16% from the prior year.
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By GlobalDataExcluding one-time items, consolidated net profit increased 6% year-on-year to CHF175m. With the inclusion of one-time items, the figure stood at CHF203m.
Operating income of CHF1.2bn in 2019 was 3% higher than the previous year.
At the end of December 2019, the group’s CET1 ratio and liquidity coverage ratio were 29.8% and 204%, respectively.
The balance sheet of Lombard Odier was said to be “strong, highly liquid and conservatively invested”.
Stephane Monier, CIO of Lombard Odier, told PBI the outlook for H1 and the remainder of 2020 and anticipated a return to positive territory for company reporting before year’s end.
Monier said: “Some politicians have referred to the Covid-19 pandemic as a war against an invisible enemy. Financial markets have reacted to the spread of the virus with sell-offs and drying up liquidity that looks similar to the reactions seen at the start of the twentieth century’s two world wars.
“As the economic expansion lengthened and broadened last year, and for the US economy became the longest on record, a key question in investors’ minds was how the cycle would end. The traditional pattern of rising inflation forcing monetary policy to turn restrictive looked increasingly implausible. As a result, an external shock started to seem the most likely alternative. At the start of the year, investors did not know what that shock might be, and looked for geopolitical threats. We know now the answer to that question.
“Near-complete shutdowns of entire economies for months will inevitably have a deep impact on near-term growth. An economic contraction of possibly unprecedented depth looks likely in the first half of this year.
“Nevertheless, our expectation is that, as public health measures taken in Europe and North America start to become effective, the decisive fiscal and monetary measures put in place by governments and central banks will eventually kick-in. For this reason, beyond an inevitable recession in corporate earnings in the first half of this year, we expect the second six months of 2020 to see an economic recovery that returns company reporting to positive territory before the year’s end.”
