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Wealth management heavyweight Juerg Haller left UBS after 35 years last year to chair family-controlled J. Safra Sarasin. He told finews.asia what his ambitions are for the Brazilian-Swiss private bank.

Juerg Haller, you’ve just made a big change in Asia, poaching from BNP Paribas.

We have had very good growth rates in Asia, but like in any market, we still have ample room to grow.

Can you be more specific about what to expect of Andy Chai’s task as the new CEO Asia?

He has a successful track record at Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas. He's joining us with a number of other people, so it will give us additional momentum.

It also gave us the opportunity to promote Enid Yip, the current CEO Asia to the main board where she will add great value.

 What brought you to Bank J. Safra Sarasin after 35 years at UBS?

This is a bank and an owner which I highly respect in terms of professional competence and track record as entrepreneurs.

What’s your impression after five months here?

I'm very impressed by the breadth and depth of the capabilities, the platform, the quality of its customer base and the way the whole business is run.

But I clearly joined J. Safra Sarasin also because I felt that it was, has been and will continue to be a successful group.

Where can Safra Sarasin improve?

The bank is on a very good trajectory. There are always areas where we can improve both for the clients, and also become more efficient. But that's also in the DNA of this bank. The cost-income ratio is a result of this continuous work.

The bank’s cost-income ratio rose quite a bit last year. Why?

Like for many institutions, our net interest income declined. We also invested some more in people.

What lessons are you applying from your time at «supertanker» UBS?

I've had the privilege of spending 35 years of UBS, so I've seen a lot of things. We will not create a copy of UBS. We will play to the strength of this organization and its heritage.

What are those?

It's the largest, family-owned private bank in the world. The family has navigated financial markets successfully, both as a franchise but also as an investor itself. Both the institution and clients benefit from that experience and capability.

A large portion of Safra Sarasin’s overall revenue comes from trading.

It's a reflection of our capital strength. If you look at our metrics, the risk is very diversified so I'm very comfortable in that respect. Also, the other areas have been growing in line with that activity as well.