Jimmy Lee from Clariden Leu discusses Asian private banking

Swiss private bank Clariden Leu spent 2009 building its Asia team. In March the firm hired Jimmy Lee from Deutsche Bank to head private banking for Asia and, later in the year, it followed this up by announcing a new Asia strategy. We speak to Singapore-based Lee about his outlook for Clariden Leu and the wealth management industry in the region.

Clariden Leu enhanced its focus on Asia in 2009, in the wake of the financial crisis. How was the year and how did the crisis impact your business?
There has been a paradigm shift in the fundamental values of the private banking business. With the onset of the economic recovery, we have seen a greater level of focus on trust, relationship and clients' needs. These are actually basic principles and consistent with the philosophy at Clariden Leu. I can honestly say that we have never shifted away from these basics.

Having said that, wealth creation continues at a healthy pace in Asia and in support of this we've enhanced our focus in the region over the past months and have expanded our staff strength.

What is your outlook for the Asian private banking industry this year?
Asia is undeniably the fastest growing private banking region in the world and at the same time, Asian UHNWI [ultra-high-net-worth individuals] are highly sophisticated and want to be close to their relationship managers and investment specialists. This has resulted in a strong demand for high-calibre client advisers, who are truly wealth managers. Today there is a shortage of such professionals and I see the industry already putting into place significant measures to identify, train and retain such talent. This will continue for some time as the market continues to grow and mature. At the same time, all private banks must continually reassess and align their market strategy with the evolving needs of their clients and prospects in the region.