Swiss bank now deems itself "an international player to be reckoned with". Zurich-based Julius Baer has joined the rush into Asia's wealth market. The Swiss bank has just opened an office in Hong Kong and plans to open another in Singapore before the month is out.

"Asia is not only a key strategic growth region, but also our biggest growth story, and we are proud to be represented with such a talented and experienced team here in Hong Kong," says Alex Widmer, CEO of Julius Baer's private-banking unit.

First we take Lugano...

The Asian-Pacific region's population of U.S.-dollar millionaires increased at year-over-year rate of 7.3% to 2.4 million in 2005, according to Capgemini's and Merrill Lynch's an 2006 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report. Worldwide, the number of millionaires grew 4.8% to 8.7 million.

In a move calculated to extend its home-market reach and deepen its asset-management toolkit, Julius Baer last year bought three locally-focused Swiss private banks along with alternatives manager GAM from UBS, boosting its assets under management to $256 billion in the process.

Now, says Widmer, Julius Baer's plan is to "achieve a significant amount of our total assets under management in emerging markets, with Asia leading the way."

Thomas Meier, CEO of Julius Baer's business in Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and something it calls the "Aegean" region -- Greece and Turkey to the rest of us -- says last year's Swiss acquisitions have given the bank "the size and the expertise" to attract Asian clients. "Julius Baer is now an international player to be reckoned with." -FWR

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