Julius Baer has recruited aggressively in Asia over the past 18 months. The bank's charismatic CEO thinks this will lead to the region generating up to a third of its business in the near future.
No doubt to coincide with the Formula One event this weekend, where private banks roll out the red carpet for their most important clients, Collardi was speaking with «Bloomberg» in Singapore on his banks progress in the Asia-Pacific region.
Last year's hiring spree is paying off in a «very big way,» Collardi said. Asia currently accounts for about 20 percent to 25 percent of the Zurich-based bank's business. And although the bank’s cost-income ratio is higher in Asia, in the high 70's, Collardi doesn't see this as a huge problem because revenue is rising.
Important New Hire
The private bank has hired more than 100 bankers in the region in the last year. Earlier this year the CEO said that the bank would continue to recruit in Asia and may add more hubs to the existing units. There has also been talk that the Singapore operations of Julius Baer would be moving out of its current Asia Square office to a substantially larger facility.
To advise on corporate development and expansion plans, Julius Baer hired Thomas Wu, a former chief financial officer at Chinese wealth manager Noah Holdings. Collardi said. Wu, will focus initially on China. «We don't need acquisitions, Asia is doing great,» Collardi said.
