The private bank is focusing on blockchain technology and crypto applications for its business in the Gulf jurisdiction.

The Zurich-based private bank Maerki Baumann & Co plans to set up a branch in Abu Dhabi, continuing a run of Swiss and other European firms of this type doing business in the Gulf.

The firm said it will apply for a corresponding licence from the supervisory authority of the Abu Dhabi Global Market free trade zone. 

The new Middle East hub will focus on tech corporate clients in the Gulf region that rely on blockchain technology and crypto applications, Maerki Baumann & Co said in a statement.

The family-run bank said it is “building on the knowledge and experience it has gathered in the area of digital assets, which were recently bundled under the `ARCHIP’ crypto brand.”

The firm’s head of legal and compliance, Andreas Fröhlicher, will lead the Abu Dhabi branch. He will report to the deputy CEO and head of private banking, Lukas S Risi.

The business will concentrate on the sector formed by local tech corporate clients that use blockchain technology and crypto applications and also serve the entrepreneurs working in this space. Maerki Baumann & Co will provide services via its existing tech banking department in Zurich. 

Fröhlicher, who is no novice in the tech-related space, was involved with the bank's launch of its crypto strategy in 2019.

Maerki Baumann & Co isn't the only Swiss bank seeking to stand out in the blockchain-related space in the Middle East. AMINA Bank, formerly known as SEBA Bank, operates in jurisdictions including Abu Dhabi. 

New brand
The Middle East hub will operate under the “ARCHIP” brand, which Maerki Baumann launched in March 2024. It brings together all the crypto services that the bank has built up. These include the trading, custody, staking and management of digital assets for private and institutional clients as well as extensive services in the areas of payment transactions, liquidity management and investment advice for tech companies. 

The private bank, founded in 1932, is owned by the Zurich-based Syz family. It is supervised by the Swiss federal regulator, FINMA, and has more than SFr10 billion of client assets under management, mainly from Switzerland and Germany.