Notenstein Privatbank
Notenstein Privatbank was a Swiss private bank focused on wealth management, investment advice, financial planning and related services for private clients.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Notenstein Privatbank was a Swiss private-banking brand based in St. Gallen. Its modern institutional history began in January 2012, when the non-U.S. business of Wegelin & Co. was separated from the historic Swiss bank during a tax dispute involving the United States and Swiss financial institutions. The transferred business was placed into Nettobank AG, an entity with its own banking licence, which was renamed Notenstein Private Bank. The name referred to the long-established Notenstein tradition in St. Gallen and connected the new institution to a banking lineage whose commercial roots reached back to the eighteenth century. The creation of Notenstein was closely tied to Wegelin & Co.'s decision to divide its activities. Business involving U.S. clients and U.S. citizens remained with Wegelin, while the remainder of the client base and operating business moved to the new Notenstein entity. Raiffeisen Switzerland acquired Notenstein in 2012, giving the cooperative banking group a private-banking arm alongside its broad domestic retail and cooperative banking network. Notenstein operated as a separately branded wealth-management business rather than as a mass-market banking franchise. Its principal activities included comprehensive wealth structuring for private clients, discretionary and advisory wealth management, investment advice, financial and pension planning, financing, and services for external asset managers. The bank served clients requiring portfolio management and broader advice on the preservation, organization and transfer of wealth. It was associated with Switzerland's tradition of relationship-led private banking, emphasizing personal advice, confidentiality within applicable law, long-term client relationships and conservative professional standards. At the end of 2015, Notenstein Private Bank merged with Bank La Roche, a Basel institution with roots in trading, forwarding and banking dating to 1787. The combined business adopted the name Notenstein La Roche Private Bank. The merger brought together the St. Gallen Notenstein lineage and the Basel La Roche tradition, while expanding the historical and geographic identity of the private-bank operation. Bank La Roche had evolved into a classic private bank during the second half of the twentieth century, concentrating on investment advice, wealth management and institutional-client services. The merged bank reported approximately CHF 16.8 billion in client assets under management in the period covered by the reference material. In July 2018, Raiffeisen Switzerland sold Notenstein La Roche Private Bank to Bank Vontobel. The transaction represented a strategic transfer of the private-banking operation to a larger Swiss wealth- and investment-management group. The bank was fully integrated into Vontobel by 30 September 2018, ending the standalone Notenstein La Roche brand and the operating life of Notenstein Privatbank as an independent banking brand.
History
Notenstein Privatbank's modern history emerged from the restructuring of Wegelin & Co., a Swiss banking house whose roots were connected to Caspar Zyli's trading company, founded in 1741. That enterprise evolved into banking during the nineteenth century and became known as Wegelin & Co. from 1893. In the early 2010s, Wegelin became involved in a U.S. Department of Justice tax dispute concerning Swiss banks and clients with undeclared assets. In response, the partners decided on 27 January 2012 to split the business. The U.S.-related business remained with Wegelin, while the non-U.S. client base and other business activities were transferred to Nettobank AG. Because Nettobank already possessed a banking licence and the relevant name rights were available through a related entity, the transfer could be completed rapidly. Nettobank was then renamed Notenstein Private Bank. The name drew on St. Gallen's Notenstein tradition, associated with a merchants' meeting place and civic association dating to the city's late-medieval commercial development. In 1741, Caspar Zyli, a family member connected with that tradition, established the trading company that ultimately formed part of the institution's historical lineage. Raiffeisen Switzerland acquired Notenstein in 2012. Under Raiffeisen ownership, the bank concentrated on private-client wealth management rather than the broad retail banking activities for which the Raiffeisen network was known. Its services included investment management and advice, wealth structuring, pension and financial planning, financing, and support for external asset managers. The bank's business model was based on personal relationships and the management of private wealth. A second historical lineage entered the organization through the merger with Bank La Roche at the end of 2015. Bank La Roche traced its origins to La Roche & Co., a Basel trading and forwarding company established by Benedikt La Roche in 1787. As industrial financing became more important around the turn of the nineteenth century, the company's banking activities expanded. The institution later participated in the development of Basel's financial infrastructure and, during the twentieth century, moved from general banking toward private banking, investment advice, wealth management and institutional services. It marked its 225th anniversary in 2012. The combined institution was named Notenstein La Roche Private Bank. It retained the St. Gallen headquarters and presented itself as a private bank joining two long-established Swiss banking traditions. Its offering covered wealth management, investment advisory services, comprehensive financial and pension planning, financing and assistance to external asset managers. Reference material associates the bank with approximately CHF 16.8 billion in assets under management. In July 2018, Bank Vontobel purchased Notenstein La Roche Private Bank from Raiffeisen Switzerland. The sale moved the private-client operation into Vontobel's broader wealth- and investment-management platform. Full integration into the Vontobel group took place on 30 September 2018. Following that integration, Notenstein La Roche Private Bank ceased to operate as an independent brand, and Notenstein Privatbank is therefore recorded as defunct rather than active.
- 2018
Sale to Bank Vontobel
[1]Raiffeisen Switzerland sold Notenstein La Roche Private Bank to Bank Vontobel in July.
- 2018
Integration into Vontobel is completed
[1]The private bank was fully integrated into Vontobel on 30 September.
- 2015
Merger with Bank La Roche
[1]Notenstein Private Bank and Bank La Roche merged at the end of the year and formed Notenstein La Roche Private Bank.
- 2012
Notenstein Private Bank is created
[1]Wegelin's non-U.S. operations were transferred to Nettobank AG, which was renamed Notenstein Private Bank.
- 2012
Raiffeisen Switzerland becomes owner
[1]Notenstein became part of Raiffeisen Switzerland.
- 1893
The Caspar Zyli trading company becomes Wegelin & Co.
[1]The long-standing St. Gallen trading and banking enterprise adopted the Wegelin & Co. name.
- 1787
La Roche & Co. is founded in Basel
[1]Benedikt La Roche established a trading and forwarding company whose banking activities later developed into Bank La Roche.
- 1741
Caspar Zyli establishes a trading company
[1]Caspar Zyli founded a shipping and trading company in St. Gallen that later developed into a banking business and formed part of the historical lineage associated with Notenstein and Wegelin.
Products and positioning
A Swiss relationship-led private bank serving affluent private clients through wealth management, investment advice, financial planning, financing and support for external asset managers.
Wealth management
Private wealth management
The bank managed private-client assets through relationship-based wealth-management services. Activities included portfolio oversight, investment implementation and broader advice intended to preserve and organize client wealth over the long term.
Investment advice
Investment advisory services
Notenstein advised private clients on investments and portfolio decisions. The service formed part of its broader private-banking proposition and could be combined with ongoing wealth management and financial planning.
Financial planning
Financial and pension planning
The bank provided planning related to clients' wider financial circumstances, including pension planning. This complemented investment advice by addressing longer-term wealth structuring and personal financial objectives.
Banking support services
Financing and external-asset-manager services
In addition to serving direct private clients, Notenstein offered financing and supported external asset managers. These capabilities extended the bank's role beyond portfolio management into related banking and professional-client services.
Controversies
2012
Wegelin tax dispute and business separation
Notenstein was created during the breakup of Wegelin & Co. amid a U.S. Department of Justice tax dispute involving Swiss banks. The U.S.-related business remained with Wegelin, while the non-U.S. business was transferred into the newly named Notenstein entity. The controversy principally concerned Wegelin, but it is part of Notenstein's formation history.
Brand decisions
2018
Sell the private bank to Bank VontobelM&ABackground
Raiffeisen Switzerland decided to transfer its private-banking operation to Bank Vontobel.
Action taken
Notenstein La Roche Private Bank was sold to Bank Vontobel in July 2018.
Aftermath
The business was fully integrated into Vontobel by 30 September 2018 and no longer operated as an independent Notenstein-branded bank.
2015
Merge with Bank La RocheM&ABackground
Notenstein and Bank La Roche shared a private-banking orientation and complementary Swiss historical identities.
Action taken
The two institutions merged at the end of 2015 and operated under the Notenstein La Roche Private Bank name.
Aftermath
The combined bank brought together St. Gallen and Basel banking traditions and continued offering wealth management and related private-client services.
2012
Separate the non-U.S. business from WegelinStrategyBackground
Wegelin's partners faced a U.S. tax dispute involving Swiss banks and chose to separate the U.S.-related business from the rest of the institution.
Action taken
The non-U.S. client business and other operating activities were transferred to Nettobank AG, which was renamed Notenstein Private Bank.
Aftermath
The transaction created a new private-bank brand that was subsequently owned by Raiffeisen Switzerland.
Sources2 sources
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