“What made the difference was the personal connection.”
“I always said I would never buy a house with black floors,” Christian Fischer recalls. His wife, Marie-Luise Fischer, however, was looking beyond the floor to the exceptional view across Lake Lugano. Buying the villa in Ticino proved to be exactly the right decision for the couple – and it also played a part in deepening their relationship of trust with Zürcher Kantonalbank.
The spacious house has an immediate sense of calm and understated elegance. Even on a day when strong winds are blowing outside, the clouds hang low and the view across the lake is less than perfect, Christian and Marie-Luise Fischer feel entirely at home in their Ticino villa. It is a home they are happy to open to family and friends, to the 65 guests who attended their wedding celebration, or to a lively group of children setting off from the villa on a boat trip.
“We like sharing our good fortune with others,” says Marie-Luise Fischer. “People reflect that generosity back to us and give us energy in return.”
More than cosmetics
Life is rarely quiet for the Fischers, personally or professionally. Marie-Luise is currently building a start-up. She develops her ideas in a thoughtfully designed room on the lower floor of the villa. “This is my sanctuary – it’s where things take shape,” she says. At present, she is working on the launch of a new cosmetics line. Looking after and caring for one’s body matters greatly to people, she says – and for good reason.
“But we need more products that women and men can use with complete confidence,” Marie-Luise explains. The products from the new white-label company she supports are high quality and free from ingredients of concern. “We are going to rewrite the narrative in cosmetics,” she says with conviction.
Christian Fischer brings the financial perspective. He spent many years working in wealth management and has since become a successful entrepreneur in his own right. He looks at his wife’s business from a financial perspective: “Margins in the cosmetics industry are exceptionally high.”
We like sharing our good fortune with others. People reflect that generosity back to us and give us energy in return.
Marie-Luise Fischer, Private Banking client
A beauty contest for banks
The Fischers approached the choice of financing partner with the same discernment they bring to other important decisions. When Christian and Marie-Luise fell in love with a penthouse in Zurich, they needed a financing partner quickly. Zürcher Kantonalbank won the contest. “It wasn’t just that the interest rate was right,” Christian says. “Everything simply came together. What made the difference was the personal connection. The way they dealt with us felt genuine from the outset.”
The numbers were only part of the equation. For Christian and Marie-Luise Fischer, a banking relationship has to be built on mutual respect. “Accessibility matters, as do speed, expertise, sound advice and capability,” Christian says. Following the professional, swift and straightforward support they received for their project in Zurich, the Fischers also chose Zürcher Kantonalbank to finance their villa in Ticino.
Bringing business and values together
Above all, the Fischers share important values with Zürcher Kantonalbank. “We want to bring business and values together,” says Marie-Luise. When it comes to performance, she trusts Christian’s professional judgement. “But I still want to know who I am dealing with.” Personal relationships built on trust matter to her.
Marie-Luise looks appreciatively towards her personal Relationship Manager from the Private Banking Key Clients team, who is currently handling important correspondence with the authorities in Ticino. “The level of care she provides goes far beyond what I would normally expect from a bank,” Marie-Luise says. “We made absolutely the right decision.”
What made the difference was the personal connection.
Christian Fischer, Private Banking client
Continuity you can feel
What does Zürcher Kantonalbank do differently from other banks? “You can feel the continuity,” says Christian Fischer. “Private Banking is built on discretion and, above all, on personal relationships. You do not want to have to rebuild that trust with someone new every few years.” Stability is therefore particularly important to the couple, as is the comprehensive support provided by their personal Relationship Manager and the high availability of the Zürcher Kantonalbank team.
The next project they plan to pursue with the bank is already taking shape. Christian and Marie-Luise Fischer have concrete plans, although they are not yet ready to make them public. For now, they are looking forward to their next meeting with the Relationship Manager they value so highly. She has invited them to a private tour of Zürcher Kantonalbank’s art collection – a welcome reminder that not everything has to be about numbers.
For the Fischers, it is another expression of the personal relationship they value at Zürcher Kantonalbank.
