Annual Report 2011 - Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Notes to the fi nancial statements
Overview of accounting policies
The financial statements of Banque Privée Edmond de
Rothschild SA, Geneva have been prepared in accordance
with the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the
Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks and its implementing
ordinance (OB) as revised on 1 February 1995,
and the guidelines issued by FINMA (the Swiss Financial
Market Supervisory Authority). The Bank’s separate financial
statements provide as true a picture as possible of its
assets, financial situation and earnings.
Hidden (“latent”) reserves are included in the profit and loss
account under the headings “Depre ciation of fixed assets”,
“Valuation adjustments, provisions and losses” and “Extraordinary
expenses”. Released hidden reserves are included
in “Extraor dinary income”.
Description of the Bank’s operations
and staff size
Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA is a full-service
bank specialising in wealth management for private and
institutional clients. It is a member of the Swiss Exchange
and became an accredited dealer in transferable securities
on 3 April 1998.
Converted to full-time jobs, the number of staff employed
by Banque Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA stood at 607
at end-2011 versus 565 a year earlier.
Through its network of branches and subsidiaries in
Switzerland and abroad, the Bank conducts on its clients’
behalf all the operations customarily provided by private
banking institutions. Fee and commission business for the
account of clients mainly includes portfolio management, fiduciary
deposits and pay ment transactions, along with trading
in securities, precious metals and derivative instru ments.
The Bank also actively deals in debt instru ments, equities,
currencies, precious metals and derivatives on a proprietary
basis, but does not engage in commodity trading.
The Bank does not outsource its services.
FINANCIAL REPORT BPER ACCOUNTS 113