JP Morgan’s private bank wants to expand its presence into the Swiss onshore private banking market and is targeting wealthy Russian clients as it plans to continue to grow its international business, according to Reuters.

The US bank is also looking to significantly expand its workforce as it plans to grow by 15 per cent its 200 frontline staff based in Europe, Africa and the Middle East by the end of 2011, Pablo Garnica, who heads JP Morgan's private banking business in the region, told the Reuters Global Private Banking Summit.

"We are making efforts to grow our private banking internationally, not only in fast growing regions like Asia and Latin America, but also in EMEA," said Geneva-based Garnica, who has been with the US bank giant since 1996.

"We are doing that through hiring and looking at new opportunities in new markets."

Garnica singled out Russia as one of the regions JP Morgan is targeting for growth as well as the growing international community of wealthy Swiss residents.

"We are seeing an affluence of international people moving to Switzerland and we want to develop a practice to serve families living in Switzerland but also with members in other countries," said Garnica, whose client base holds typically $20 million or more in assets.

(WealthBriefing editor Tom Burroughes has provided commentary ahead of the Reuters summit on the Reuters Insider television service).