Concept
ODDO BHF is a Franco-German financial group with a dual Paris–Frankfurt centre: a private bank, asset management and an investment bank. Type: an independent group under family control — 65% held by the Oddo family, 25% by employees, the rest by outside holders (the Bettencourt Meyers family's Téthys, Thierry Lombard, Pierre Landolt, Natixis); unlisted. The managing partner is Philippe Oddo; a Deputy CEO post was created in June 2026 for Simone Westerfeld. The legal frame is the pair ODDO BHF SCA (Paris) and ODDO BHF SE (Frankfurt).
History and evolution
The French line dates to 1849 (a Marseille stockbroker), the German one to 1854 (Frankfurter Bank, later BHF-BANK). In 2016 Oddo acquired BHF-BANK and formed the ODDO BHF brand. A series of acquisitions followed: Landolt & Cie in Switzerland (2020–2021, a house from 1780), Quilvest Banque Privée in France (2022, merged in 2024 as La Banque Privée Saint-Germain), a London office (2023), a Vienna branch (2025) with RBI's M&A team moving over. In October 2025 the group issued the EUROD euro stablecoin under the MiCA regime. Contrary to rumours, the group did not buy Italy's Equita.
Client assets stand at around €156bn, with ~3,200 staff, equity above €1.2bn and an 18.9% solvency ratio; Fitch rates the group BBB+/Stable (affirmed March 2026).
Regulation
- ACPR — ODDO BHF SCA (Paris; offices in Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Marseille; a Vienna branch since 2025);
- BaFin — ODDO BHF SE (Frankfurt plus ~16 private-banking points in Germany);
- FINMA — ODDO BHF (Switzerland) SA (Zurich and Geneva; including Landolt & Cie);
- CSSF — ODDO BHF Asset Management LUX (a fund management company);
- other points (London, Milan, Madrid, Abu Dhabi, New York) are investment-banking and asset-management sites, not booking centres.
Source of funds and compliance
The standard file applies: identification, beneficial owners, source of funds and source of wealth, FATCA/CRS. No public enforcement against current entities was identified. A legacy episode: in November 2022 the Cologne prosecutor raided offices as part of the cum-ex investigation; the bank stressed the events concerned the BHF Asset Servicing unit sold to BNY Mellon in 2010 — long before Oddo's 2016 takeover.
Who it serves
- France: official tariff thresholds for discretionary mandates from €75,000–300,000 depending on the format (per published schedules);
- Germany: per industry tests, fully bespoke management with alternatives starts at €3m (unofficial);
- Switzerland: HNW/UHNW positioning for international clients, no published threshold;
- entrepreneurs — a strong corporate-finance practice (20+ deals a year) alongside the private bank.
Services
Wealth management
- discretionary and advisory management, family office, foundations;
- a desk for external asset managers.
Lending
- lombard loans and bespoke financing.
Private markets and asset management
- ODDO BHF Private Equity/Private Debt — €4.8bn raised, 500+ partnerships since 1999;
- ODDO BHF AM — €63bn under management, with a first active-ETF range from 2025.
Corporates and markets
- research and brokerage through alliances with Natixis, ABN AMRO, BBVA, Commerzbank and RBI; M&A and corporate finance; custody and asset servicing.
Entities and booking centres
| Jurisdiction | Legal entity | Format and supervisor | Role for the client |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | ODDO BHF SCA, Paris | bank, ACPR | domestic private banking |
| Germany | ODDO BHF SE, Frankfurt | bank, BaFin | domestic private banking |
| Switzerland | ODDO BHF (Switzerland) SA | bank, FINMA (incl. Landolt & Cie) | international booking centre |
| Luxembourg | ODDO BHF Asset Management LUX | management company, CSSF | fund shelf, no banking booking |
| Austria | ODDO BHF SCA branch, Vienna | EU passport (since 2025) | private banking and M&A with the RBI team |
London, Milan, Madrid, Abu Dhabi and New York are investment-banking and asset-management points without booking; there is no Monaco or Asia presence.
Strengths
- a rare Franco-German construction: two home markets plus Swiss booking;
- family control with employee shareholding;
- strong private markets and corporate finance for entrepreneurs;
- a public Fitch rating and transparent reporting.
Where it does not fit
- clients needing booking in Asia or the Middle East — no points exist;
- those wanting published thresholds beyond France — Germany and Switzerland disclose no minimums;
- fortunes below Germany's indicative €3m for the full format (unofficial);
- portfolios centred on crypto assets (the EUROD stablecoin is an institutional story, not retail).
ODDO BHF is a family-owned Franco-German house with Swiss booking and an entrepreneurial bent; the trade-off is a narrow booking geography and unpublished thresholds outside France.
Q/A
Entry and geography
What minimum capital does ODDO BHF require?
In France thresholds are published in the tariff schedules: discretionary mandates from €75,000–300,000 by format. In Germany, per industry tests, the full bespoke format with alternatives starts at €3m. Switzerland publishes no threshold; admission is individual.
Is ODDO BHF a French or a German bank?
Both: the group is built on a pair of entities — ODDO BHF SCA in Paris (ACPR) and ODDO BHF SE in Frankfurt (BaFin) — plus a Swiss bank in Zurich and Geneva. International booking is centred in Switzerland.
What does the deposit guarantee cover?
France — FGDR €100,000; Germany — EdB €100,000; Switzerland — esisuisse CHF 100,000. Custody securities remain the client's property and are returned to the owner in a bank failure.
History
What happened in the cum-ex investigation?
In November 2022 the Cologne prosecutor raided offices as part of the cum-ex probe; the bank stated the events concerned the BHF Asset Servicing unit sold to BNY Mellon in 2010 — well before Oddo's 2016 acquisition of BHF-BANK. No charges were brought against the current bank.
Did the group buy Italy's Equita?
No: Equita remains independent and listed. ODDO BHF's Italian presence is an asset-management office in Milan; 2025 growth ran through Vienna and the RBI partnership.