Swiss private bank Clariden Leu, part of the Credit Suisse GROUP, is open to making an acquisition at home or abroad, Chief Executive Officer Bernard Stalder was quoted as saying on Sunday.
"We do not rule out making an acquisition, provided that the quality, the business model, the culture and, of course, the price are right," Stalder told the Neue Zuercher Zeitung in (NZZ) an interview.
Credit Suisse announced in April that it was combining its five private banking units into a single entity, saying it would generate synergies worth 100 million Swiss francs a year in additional annual net income.
Stalder said he saw opportunities for acquisitions both in Switzerland and abroad.
"In the first place we see an acquisition abroad and secondly in growth markets. For example, one could find in Switzerland a bank which has a full international clientele," Stalder told NZZ.
"The Swiss private banking market is saturated. The consolidation will continue," he added.
Eastern Europe, Rusia, the Middle East and Asia were key markets for Clariden Leu, he said, adding that Clariden had a strong tradition in Latin America.
The bank's business plan had earmarked annual growth in trading profit of 15 percent and cost growth of 5 percent, he said.
Clariden Leu had assets under management of about 120 billion francs at the end of August, having acquired net new money from clients of 4.5 billion francs so far this year, Stader was quoted as saying. The bank had not lost clients as a result of the merger, he said.
"With very few exceptions we have not had negative reactions," he said adding that the bank intended to bring all the units onto a single information technology platform by the third quarter of next year and would also be introducing a new brand and logo.
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