Bank Julius Baer develops Asia as second home market

Lender to launch trust company in Singapore and representative offices in other Asian nations.

 

Swiss private banking group Julius Baer is decisively growing Asia into its second home market. It plans to upgrade its Hong Kong presence to a booking centre before the end of this year, to open a representative office in Shanghai, China, and a Trust Company in Singapore next year, upon application and regulatory approvals. The Bank is also rapidly developing its Asian investment capabilities further as a centre of excellence for the rest of the Julius Baer Group, according to a Bank Julius Baer report.

These plans were announced by its top management when Julius Baer convened a Board of Directors meeting for the first time in Singapore to signify the importance of Asia. Bank Julius Baer also hosted an exclusive gala dinner for clients and business associates to celebrate its 120th Anniversary.

Raymond J. Baer, Group Chairman, who commented on the evolution of global wealth management, said, “Wealth used to be concentrated in several designated wealth centres. Today, growth in emerging markets will help the world develop higher living standards and to broaden wealth distribution, with the investment universe getting richer in the process. This presents significant opportunities for the Bank. Building on our treasured 120-year Swiss heritage, we will relentlessly improve on our focused client-centric business model, expand our offering, deepen and broaden our market penetration in Asia as we increase our global reach.”

Boris F.J. Collardi, Group Chief Executive Officer, talked about Julius Baer in the 21st Century and added, “Our meetings with many different stakeholders in Asia further affirm that Julius Baer is the private bank of choice. As the largest Swiss private banking group, Julius Baer will be the catalyst to bring European know-how and investment expertise to Asia and bring Asian investment opportunities to Europe.

Dr. Thomas R. Meier, Member of the Executive Board and CEO Asia & Middle East, reaffirmed that “Singapore and Hong Kong are our key gateways to Asia, with the former serving as the regional headquarters for South East Asia and the latter for North Asia.” Bank Julius Baer now employs more than 400 employees in Asia.