Rue du Rhône

Private banking, commodities trading and watches.

Geneva is Switzerland's commodities-trading capital and a heavyweight in private banking. Pictet, Lombard Odier and Mirabaud — three of the largest Swiss private banks — were founded here. Glencore, Trafigura, Mercuria, Vitol and Cargill all operate major energy-and-metals trading desks within walking distance of the lake; an estimated third of the world's seaborne crude is traded out of the canton.

Origin

Geneva became a finance centre in the 18th century when Huguenot bankers (originally from France and the Italian states) settled. Commodity trading came in the 20th century, accelerated by Switzerland's neutrality and the canton's permissive tax framework.

Who works here

Pictet, Lombard Odier, Mirabaud, UBP
Commodity traders: Glencore (Baar/Zug), Trafigura, Mercuria, Vitol, Cargill
Wealth managers serving non-resident high-net-worth clients
United Nations / WTO secretariats

Landmarks

Rue du Rhône (the main banking street)
Place du Lac
Jet d'Eau
Quai des Bergues

Three indices a local would build

Open the prompt box pre-filled with one of these and turn it into a transparent, rule-based index in under a minute.

An index of listed commodity traders and integrated majors (GLEN, TRAF private, but XOM, CVX, SHEL, BP, EQNR public).open in builder →
Swiss listed private banks ranked by net new money.open in builder →
Luxury watch makers and groups, market-cap weighted (CFR, Swatch, LVMH).open in builder →

Origin

Who works here

Landmarks

Three indices a local would build

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