1796
    -
1815

The origins of the Firm date back to 1796, when Henri Hentsch established a silk and commission business.

Jean Gédéon Lombard	Henri Hentsch

At that time, textiles and watch-making – two manufacturing businesses with a strong export bias – were expanding in Geneva, creating a demand for banking services and triggering a process of capital accumulation. After the Revolution, France was in ruins. The old banks were in a state of collapse, leading to the establishment of new banking houses in Geneva. In 1798, Jean Gédéon Lombard and Henri Hentsch formed a partnership, announcing their principal activity as "commission operations". Despite the upheaval caused by the Napoleonic occupation, they were able to develop their business, combining adaptability with caution and moving increasingly into asset management and advisory services.

1815
    -
1848

Open to the world's opportunities

During the Restoration, Geneva, now part of Switzerland, saw a return to political stability and growth. From 1830 onward, Jean-Eloi Lombard concentrated on the Bank's internal development, while his brother Alexandre explored new investment opportunities in America. Meanwhile, their new Partner, Charles Odier, launched a series of international financing operations, particularly in maritime, river, and railway transport.

In the same period, a new banking house was established in Geneva in 1837, closely connected to the Darier family, from which it took its name in 1880.

Charles Odier	Jules Darier-Rey

1848
    -
1914

Committed to the rise of Switzerland's financial sector

In the mid-19th century, Alexis Lombard and James Odier took the helm of the Firm and, over the next 50 years, helped make it one of Geneva's leading institutions. Testa-ment to its contem-porary celebrity can be found in Jules Verne’s novel From the Earth to the Moon (1865), in which the Bank is listed among the backers of a fictional interplane-tary project.

From the Earth to the Moon a novel by Jules Verne (1865)

The Partners of the time assisted in the creation of the Geneva Stock Exchange in 1857, Switzerland’s first such institution, and the Swiss National Bank in 1907. James Odier and Jules Darier-Rey also founded the first local life insurance company, La Genevoise, in 1872.

1914
    -
1945

Riding out crisis and becoming a social innovator

The First World War left Geneva unscathed, but had serious repercussions on business. Nevertheless, in 1919 the Firm was among the first to establish a pension fund for its employees, whereas the Swiss government did not start considering a social security program until 1925. The crisis that struck the New York Stock Exchange in October 1929 quickly spread to Europe and then Geneva. The Firm rode out this difficult period, which saw a slow-down in its activities that lasted until the end of the Second World War.

"The current mood of enthusiasm reigning on the Stock Exchange (…) makes it our duty to remind staff of the dangers of speculation" Employee memo, May 3, 1927

1945
    -
2000

Pioneers in an everchanging world

After the Second World War, Geneva’s private bankers played an active part in the reconstruction efforts of the Thirty Glorious Years, which generated a major demand for capital as well as considerable wealth.

At the instigation of Marcel Odier, the Firm became the first private bank to open an office abroad, in Montreal in 1951. It also pioneered the creation and distribution of mutual funds in Europe. To meet the needs of institutional investors, the Firm established a specialized department in the early 1970s. In 1979, it became the first European bank with a seat on the New York Stock Exchange and in 1993 it helped set up the Swiss Electronic Exchange.