The story
History
In 1873, BSI opened its main office on Piazza della Riforma in Lugano. The next year, the bank opened its first branch, this in Locarno. Branches in Bellinzona (1879) and Chiasso (1906) followed. In 1880, BSI relocated its headquarters to the historic Palazzo dei Marchesi Riva, which dates back to 1747, where the headquarters of the Bank are located to this day.
1881: BSI is the only bank in Ticino authorised to issue banknotes until 1907
1935: BSI opens a branch office in Zurich
1969: The start of international expansion
1973: One hundredth anniversary of BSI. BSI opens the St.Moritz branch
1975: BSI extends its reach to the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
1976: BSI opens its first representation in South America, in Caracas, Venezuela.
1981: Opening of the Hong Kong office.
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1988: BSI extends its activities to the Principality of Monaco.
1998: Assicurazioni Generali, Trieste, becomes the sole shareholder
2000: As of 1 January, Banca della Svizzera Italiana is officially renamed BSI SA. In November, it opened new offices in Lausanne.
2005: Opens BSI Bank Ltd in Singapore
2005: September - The new BSI building opens at Via Canova 6, Lugano.
2006: BSI acquires Banca Unione di Credito.
2008: BSI acquires Banca del Gottardo and opens a representative office in Bahrain
2011: BSI expands in Asia and obtains a banking license to open a branch in Hong Kong
2013: BSI expands into Italy and obtains a banking licence to open the Italian branch of BSI Europe in Milan.
2014: BSI opens a branch in Panama
2015:
2016: In February, EFG International (SIX:EFGN), the global private banking group based in Zurich, announced that it is to acquire BSI, according to an agreement signed on 21 February 2016 with BSI's sole shareholder BTG Pactual. The transaction was finalized on 1 November.
2016: In May, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that it had served BSI Bank (Singapore) Limited notice of intention to withdraw its status as a merchant bank in Singapore for serious breaches of anti-money laundering requirements, poor management oversight of the bank's operations, and gross misconduct by some of the bank's staff.
November 2016 - BSI Singapore is fully integrated into EFG under an accelerated asset deal
March 2017 - BSI Hong Kong is fully integrated into EFG
April 2017 - BSI Switzerland integration is completed. The roll-out of the new EFG brand beings in locations where the legal integration of BSI is completed
May 2017: BSI's entity in Luxembourg has been migrated to EFG Bank in Luxembourg
BSI Art Foundation
The BSI Art Foundation promotes the arts and culture in all of their forms. It organises events, exhibitions, and displays in collaboration with other institutions, associations of individual artists, and world-class national museums. It publishes brochures, books, and catalogues about art and artistic endeavours. The Foundation grants scholarships to talented young artists. For established artists, it sets up funds and contributes to developing the artists' potential.
BSI Gamma Foundation
Established on the 125th anniversary of BSI, the BSI Gamma Foundation promotes research in the area of asset management and cooperation between the world of research and practical applications, assigns research mandates to people or institutions with recognized experience in the sector, organises conferences, and publishes the research results.
Centenario Foundation
The Centenario Foundation began in 1973 on the occasion of BSI's first one hundred years. Its scope is to bestow monetary recognition to persons or institutions that have furthered the development of Italian-Swiss relations, contributed to the betterment of understanding between the Swiss and Italian people, or expanded the common cultural heritage.
BSI Architectural Foundation
The BSI Architectural Foundation promotes understanding, education, and research within the field of architecture, in particular by presenting a biennial architectural award, the BSI Architectural Award, the purpose of which is to recognize and bring to public and media attention architects who have made an important contribution to contemporary architecture and who have shown particular sensitivity to the landscape and environment.
From Wikipedia’s article on BSI Ltd, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4