With the experience of three decades of banking in Asia, Lombard Odier aims to boost its business in the growth region through further partnerships with local companies.
Thirty years ago, Asia was an emerging market that in many ways lagged the more advanced economies of the West. Today, the region is a key provider of growth to companies such as Lombard Odier, a private bank that has its headquarters in a saturated market.
Lombard Odier manages a third of its client assets of 242 billion Swiss francs for customers based in Switzerland, a third for Europe-based customers and a third for wealthy people in new markets, which include Asia. And Asia is making up a substantial amount of the that third, Chairman Patrick Odier said at a meeting in Singapore today.
New Markets in Sight
No surprise then that the Geneva-based bank is eyeing a further expansion in the Asian-Pacific region, be it through partnerships with local players or by adding relationship managers to the teams based at its three offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
The bank has decided to both hire more bankers in the region, but also to tie up with further local partners in countries where it sees opportunities to build its wealth management business, including Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia or Vietnam.
Going Onshore
The local presence has become even more important for banks such as Lombard Odier in recent years. «More and more clients want to keep their assets onshore,» said Vincent Magnenat, CEO Asia Pacific.
The cause for this change in investment pattern is to be found in the development of the financial markets since the financial crisis, which prompted a tightening of the regulatory frameworks. International cooperation between jurisdictions has rendered less attractive business models that focused strongly on offshore banking and accelerated consolidation in private banking.
Technology Transfer
Keeping assets onshore doesn’t mean that clients don’t want to invest in assets globally. And that’s where Lombard Odier comes into play. The Swiss bank not only provides investment vehicles to its local partners, but also helps local partners develop their teams through training.
Patrick Odier said the bank didn’t exclude making acquisitions, but cautioned that the purchase price didn’t include the cost of integrating a company. Acquisitions tie down a lot of managerial firepower.
Good Performance Key to Success
«Growth has always been about making our assets increase in value,» the banker said. «Clients remain loyal if you perform well.»
The Swiss bank knows from experience what it takes to retain clients. Patrick Odier said that the bank’s longest client relationship dated back to 1801. Its Asian business doesn’t go back that long, but the Swiss bank intends to stay and become an even more important player in this fast-growing market.
