Swiss private banking group Julius Baer completed the transfer of Merrill Lynch’s international wealth management business in India about 14 months ago. Atul Singh, managing director and chief executive officer, India, Julius Baer was the erstwile head for the India wealth business with Merril Lynch as well. Singh oversaw the transition of the business and now manages one of the few foreign owned private banking set-ups still remaining in the country. Several foreign private banks have packed their bags and moved out of the Indian market in recent years. Singh spoke to Mint about why Julius Baer, with a focus on servicing and advising high net worth clients and a presence in global wealth management, is different. He also spoke about operating the business in the tighter regulatory environment. Edited excerpts:
It’s been a year of operations as Julius Baer (India). What’s has changed for the organisation and the clients?
Julius Baer, at its size, is probably the only pure-play private bank. This means there is no question of relative focus and that’s starkly different from being part of a universal commercial bank. In the last 1 year, this has played out well for us thanks to the parentage and the focus. We have been able to expand our offering significantly and also build capabilities that got missed earlier.
