Hottinger & Cie

the Hottinger Family Swiss Coat of Arm

The Banque Messieurs Rougemont & Hottinguer was launched in Paris by Baron Jean-Conrad Hottinguer in 1786. The bank was located in the Hôtel de Beaupreaux in front of the Banque de France. In 1789, Jean-Conrad Hottinger changed the bank's name to Messieurs Hottinguer & Cie. In 1800, he was appointed regent of the Banque de France.[1]

Jean-Conrad Hottinguer

In 1833, Baron Jean–Henri Hottinguer took the helms of Hottingeur & Cie. In 1848, the bank bought Banque Delessert and moved the family home to the Hôtel Hottinguer on rue de la Baume in Paris. In 1866, Baron Rodolphe Hottinguer took over the Hottinger Bank. In 1920, Henry Hottinger took over his father at the head of the group.[1]

The balcony of the Cercle de la rue Royale in Paris by Tissot. Baron Rodolphe Hottinguer is in the picture, sitting on the sofa, without hat.

In 1968, Baron Henri Hottinguer (1934–2015) moved to Zurich and founded Bank Hottinger & Cie, the Swiss division of Hottinger Group.

In 1981, Baron Henri Hottinger (1934–2015) sought to further expand the Hottinger Group by launching operations in London, New York, Nassau and Luxembourg, which were independently capitalised and regulated in their respective jurisdictions by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.[2]

In 2008, after a tenuous family feud for control of the dynasty's bank, the Baron Henri Hottinger gained control of the group.[3] Between 2009 and 2013, Baron Henri and his sons (Rodolphe and Frédéric) resigned their executive positions at Hottinger & Cie.

In 2013 Hottinger & Partners, a franchise asset management business, was involved in an embezzlement scandal. Fabien Gaglio, a private banker and shareholder of the franchise, confessed in January 2013 to the police he ran a Ponzi scheme on his own terms for 15 years, and stated that he had lost all the proceeds of his scheme. Gaglio was sentenced to 5 years in a Luxembourg prison (1/2 on parole) and a €150,000 fine.[4][5][3]

Hottinger & Cie, in its capacity as depository to the franchise Hottinger & Partners, witnessed significant losses which ultimately led to the Swiss bank's liquidation in October 2015.[6] Heritage Bank and Standard Chartered bought assets from the bankrupted Hottinger & Cie.[7]

Following the death of Baron Henri Hottinger in 2015, his son Frédéric Hottinger inherited the vast majority of his father's estate, in particular Groupe Financière Hottinger & Co. (Hottinger Group).[8] Upon receiving his inheritance Frédéric Hottinger began merger discussions with Archimedes Private Office, a multi-family office regarded as complementary to the existing Hottinger business. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approved the merger of Hottinger and Archimedes on 26 July 2016 with Hottinger Group now maintaining offices in London, Dublin, New York and Geneva. The Luxembourg division of Groupe Financière Hottinger & Co was not part of the merger. In 2017, Iteram Investments, the fund management business of Alexandre Col, merged with Hottinger Luxembourg. Frédéric Hottinger remains a shareholder and board member of Iteram Investments.[9]

In April 2019, the Hottinger Group launched an art consultancy service, Hottinger Art.[10]