CBH Bank was created in 1975 as a stock and commodities brokerage. Switzerland granted it a full banking license in 1991. About 260 people work for the organization. Currently, Philippe Cordonier is the general manager.Private banking and asset management are the bank’s specialties in Geneva, Switzerland. The institution provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to protect and grow client wealth, emphasizing personalized relationships and discretion.
Key offerings include portfolio management, credit and banking services, wealth and tax planning, trading, and online banking access. Clients benefit from both discretionary and advisory portfolio management, as well as tailored lending solutions—such as Lombard loans and fully collateralized letters of credit for international trade. The bank also assists with real estate, yacht, and aircraft financing through its established connections with mortgage brokers and financing banks.
Wealth and tax planning covers asset protection, financial and retirement planning, and succession strategies, ensuring clients’ legacies are preserved for future generations. The trading desk provides efficient execution across all major markets and instruments, operating during both European and North American hours.
For external asset managers, the bank offers multiple booking centers and high-touch support, while clients can monitor and manage their holdings via a secure online platform. Asset management services are underpinned by principles of transparency, flexibility, and disciplined research, with in-house funds and custom mandates available.
Family office and advisory services round out the bank’s offerings, providing holistic solutions for complex family and business needs—from private investments to corporate advisory.

Benefits and Risks of Private Banking and Wealth Management
Private banking and wealth management, as practiced by institutions like CBH Bank, offer clients both distinct advantages and important considerations to weigh.
Benefits

Personalized Service: Clients receive tailored financial advice and solutions designed around their unique goals, needs, and risk tolerance. The relationship is built on trust and long-term partnership, ensuring continuity and a deep understanding of each client’s situation.
Expertise and Access: Private banks employ seasoned professionals adept at navigating complex global markets, often providing access to exclusive investment opportunities, products, and networks unavailable to retail investors.
Discretion and Integrity: Confidentiality is a core tenet. Private banks are renowned for their commitment to discretion and ethical guidance, handling client matters with the utmost care.
Holistic Wealth Management: Beyond investment management, these services often encompass estate planning, tax optimization, and succession strategies, making for an all-in-one financial solution.

Risks

Investment Risk: As with any investment, there is always a risk of loss. Even the most carefully crafted portfolios are subject to market volatility and downturns.
Counterparty and Credit Risk: Lending services are typically secured by collateral, but there remains a risk that counterparties may not meet their obligations or that collateral may lose value.
Currency and Interest Rate Fluctuations: International portfolios can expose clients to shifts in currency values and interest rates, which can impact returns. Regular monitoring and prudent limits help manage exposure.
Regulatory and Operational Risk: Changing regulations and operational oversights can impact the safety and performance of wealth management services, making continuous oversight essential.

Navigating these benefits and risks requires vigilance and expertise—qualities that specialist institutions aim to provide through prudent risk management policies and a dedication to transparent, independent advice.

The Benhamou family owns the bank and prioritizes cultivating relationships with UHNW clients in LATAM, Israel, Asia, Russia, and Venezuela.

Since 2009, the assets under the administration of CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA, a tiny family-owned bank in Switzerland, have more than tripled, from $2 billion to $11.4 billion. The bank’s financial filings indicate that 19% of its business last year came from assets owned by clients in Latin America and the Caribbean. – WSJ

Best Practices for Choosing a Private Bank
Selecting the right private bank from among the hundreds of options in Switzerland—and worldwide—is no easy feat. With so many institutions promising tailored solutions and confidentiality, it pays to dig a little deeper before making a commitment. Here are some well-tested strategies that seasoned investors and UHNW families rely on:

Evaluate Reputation and Track Record:
Start by looking into the bank’s history and financial stability. Firms like Credit Suisse, Julius Baer, and Lombard Odier have weathered multiple financial storms and generally maintain robust compliance standards. Read industry reports, client testimonials, and consult independent rankings from organizations like Euromoney and Global Finance.

Assess Range of Services:
A top-notch private bank should offer more than just portfolio management—they’ll provide estate planning, tax optimization, succession strategies, and even bespoke lending solutions. Gauge whether the bank has specialists for your specific needs, whether it’s philanthropy, real estate investment, or global mobility planning.

Understand Client Profile and Accessibility:
Some banks focus on specific regions or client segments—UHNW, entrepreneurs, or multigenerational families. Check if the bank’s expertise aligns with your footprint and ambitions. Don’t hesitate to request references or case studies relevant to your background.

Transparency and Fee Structure:
Ask for a clear explanation of their fee model. Leading private banks will openly discuss advisory costs, custodial fees, and transaction charges. If any terms are unclear or seem opaque, that’s a red flag.

Meet the Relationship Team:
Private banking is as much about people as it is about numbers. Schedule a discussion with your prospective relationship manager. Evaluate their experience, language skills, and approachability—as this becomes a highly personal partnership.

Review Digital Capabilities:
In our increasingly mobile world, digital banking platforms matter. Check how robust and secure their online offerings are, from portfolio dashboards to seamless document exchange and transaction execution.

By following these steps, you’ll be better positioned to identify a private bank that fits both your financial situation and personal preferences. Successful partnerships are not just about discretion—they’re about alignment and long-term trust.

Corporate name, legal form, and head office

CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA owns the Group. The Bank performs all asset management and securities trading activities.

Risk Oversight and Controls
Mitigating risk is baked into CBH Bank’s DNA. Rather than taking speculative bets, the bank steers clear of investing for its own portfolio. Lending is only extended when clients provide sufficient collateral to safeguard the bank.
Oversight is hands-on: the Board of Directors closely supervises risk policies, ensuring that robust frameworks are followed at every level. Specific limits are set to help manage exposures.
As for the details:

Credit risk is kept in check through continuous monitoring, and loans are always backed by assets. Customer credit lines are mainly collateralized, minimizing potential losses.
Interest rate exposure is not a significant concern for CBH Bank, thanks to its conservative approach.
Currency risks are tracked and managed daily, so fluctuations in foreign exchange markets won’t take the bank or its clients by surprise.
Counterparty risk gets a daily health check, which means the bank can quickly react to any trouble brewing in global markets.

The result? Risk isn’t just managed—it’s actively controlled to protect both the institution and those who bank with it.

Besides its Zurich branch and affiliates in St. Moritz and Israel, the bank has firms in the Bahamas, England, Hong Kong, and Brazil. CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA combines these organizations.

The Media and Difficulties

Eliminalia aids in “cleaning up” your image.
It has been alleged that CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA spent slightly under 229,000 euros to Eliminalia, a Spanish reputation management, to erase content that connected it to accusations of money laundering and offshore entities, after employing ReputationUp, one of its partners.
If a bank’s reputation is at stake, swift action is often taken to safeguard its image. In the wake of adverse press or online accusations, banks may engage leading reputation management firms to mitigate negative coverage across digital platforms. This approach, while controversial, is increasingly common among financial institutions seeking to distance themselves from scandal and maintain client trust. Reputation management companies like Eliminalia specialize in rapidly addressing online content—sometimes within hours—by leveraging legal and technical strategies to suppress or remove damaging reports.
Such measures underscore the high stakes involved for private banks with international clientele. In complex cases, the response time and expertise offered by these firms can be as crucial as the legal defense itself, ensuring that sensitive issues are handled discreetly and efficiently.

U.S. investigation into corruption in Venezuela

There is some evidence linking CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA to allegations of corruption in Venezuela, but not much. Although CBH was the victim of the plan’s crime, US authorities assert that CBH Bank is being utilized to launder the money earned by individuals in Venezuela through the fraud and embezzlement scheme after obtaining bank records. According to CBH, they abide by all laws and guidelines and are unaware of any money laundering activity.

The banking watchdog in Switzerland criticized CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA for not doing enough to stop money laundering when providing services to wealthy offshore Venezuelan clients. Swiss National Councillor Prisca Birrer-Heimo requested swift legislative changes and chastised CBH Bank’s risk management.
CBH’s Risk Management Approach
CBH maintains that it does not invest for its own account and only extends loans against adequately collateralized assets. The Board of Directors oversees and implements the bank’s risk framework, with a stated commitment to prudent risk management principles. Limits are set as part of this approach, and the bank claims it is not significantly exposed to interest rate risk, while credit risks are described as limited and subject to continuous monitoring. In practice, collateral generally secures customer credits, and counterparty risk is checked daily. Additionally, currency exposure is monitored on a day-to-day basis.
Despite these internal controls, the criticism from Swiss regulators and calls for reform highlight ongoing concerns about the effectiveness and rigor of CBH’s risk management—particularly in the face of complex international money flows.

Examination of corruption in Kazakhstan

Following payments from Kazakh billionaires, a report alleging potential money laundering was received by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority Finma. According to Sonntagszeitung, there has been previous coverage of a private bank with its headquarters in Geneva. A clan in Kazakhstan known as the Akhmetzhan Yessimovs is linked to extremely suspicious financial practices in this case.

In a piece about CBH, The Telegraph published an interview with Aliya Nazarbayeva, the youngest daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first President of Kazakhstan. In a London high court procedure, Alya Nazarbayeva is suing her former personal financial advisor for misconduct; her words are quoted in the paper.

It was one of her many claims that she had given him instructions to investigate purchasing a 51 percent stake in the CBH Bank at his recommendation. The $108 million meant to be invested in a controlling stake in CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA was reported stolen to Ms. Nazarbayeva’s advisor in 2016. 

Florian, Homm

Before it collapsed in 2007, the hedge fund Absolute Capital Management (ACM), led by Florian Homm, managed assets worth up to $3 billion. 200 million US dollars were lost by investors, sources state. Accused of financial fraud in the United States, he disappeared in 2007. After his resignation, Florian Homm was accused of overvaluing some corporate assets by the surviving management of his company. From CBH Bank accounts, his spouse removed money.

Bahamas CBH

The Bahamas Supreme Court declared that CBH’s “serious error and negligence” permitted fraudsters to empty one of its clients’ accounts of almost $2 million. Judge Ian Winder blasted CBH Bahamas in a May 12, 2022 ruling for “failing to exercise the requisite due care and skill expected” when it overlooked indicators that it was communicating with criminals.

The story of Venezuela’s gold ingots

In a story published on August 3, 2020, the Associated Press misrepresented certain financial information concerning Banco CBH about a Venezuelan official who was purportedly buying gold to hide unexplained income. Assets under management for clients in Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 19% of the bank’s operations last year. The AP has corrected the story to reflect that Banco CBH is unrelated to the inaccurate information that was previously provided. 

OFFSHORE LEAKS DATABASE

Regulatory proceedings have been taken against Banca Zarattini & Co. and CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA as a result of recent investigations conducted by Swiss authorities. These investigations found that both companies failed to prevent money laundering while working with wealthy Venezuelan offshore clients.

To add insult to injury, Eliminalia, a Spanish corporation that manages reputations, has been called into question for employing dubious methods to wipe the pasts of its customers from the internet. Using deceptive strategies, such as pretending to be media organizations and filing bogus copyright complaints, the corporation, which has operations in many different locales, including Barcelona and Kyiv, removes content that is deemed to be unwanted.

Eliminalia’s operations were brought to light by a cache of 50,000 internal papers that were stolen by The Guardian. These documents demonstrate that Eliminalia’s customers include individuals and corporations who are looking to erase negative or humiliating information from the internet, as well as convicted criminals. Eliminalia’s practices pose ethical problems and have spurred international inquiries into misinformation, even though the company believes it is exploiting the “right to be forgotten” provision of the European Union.

In 2013, Diego “Didac” Sanchez established Eliminalia, which has since worked with more than 1,500 clients all around the world between the years 2015 and 2021, charging costs that can reach up to 100,000 euros. Eliminalia’s work has been defended by many clients, including individuals who have been accused of major offenses such as money laundering. However, the legal counsel for the company has pointed out that the inquiries are biased.

In general, the examples of Banca Zarattini & Co., CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA, and Eliminalia shed light on the difficulties and ethical conundrums that are associated with financial institutions and reputation management organizations that are directly involved in problematic conduct.

Conclusion

Lastly, financial firms such as Banca Zarattini & Co. and CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA are facing regulatory actions over their failure to prevent money laundering in their dealings with wealthy Venezuelan offshore clients, according to recent investigations by Swiss authorities. The difficulties that financial institutions like CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA encounter in avoiding illegal financial transactions and remaining in compliance with regulations are highlighted by these results.

Additionally, CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA’s alleged ties to persons charged with financial misbehavior and its participation in corruption claims in Kazakhstan and Venezuela cast a dark shadow over the credibility and ethics of the organization.

The use of misleading methods to remove negative information from the internet is just one example of the problematic reputation management practices that Eliminalia engaged in. The ethical dilemmas that arise from these practices and their effect on online accountability and transparency are brought to light by the revelations.

Given these results, regulatory bodies must investigate CBH Compagnie Bancaire Helvetique SA and similar financial institutions thoroughly to ensure they do not violate anti-money laundering laws and regulations. If reputation management companies like Eliminalia are serious about upholding ethical standards and protecting individuals’ privacy and data, then there has to be more openness and regulation in the industry.