Julius Baer expands onshore office in India

Julius Baer, the Swiss-based private bank, has hired six relationship managers across India, in an expansion confirmed by the Indian arm of the bank this morning.
Three of the six new managers were hired in April and May this year includingHimanshu Bhagatwho was appointed as head of wealth management at Julius Baer Wealth Advisors (India) and a management committee member of Julius Baer India.
Jimmy Lee, head of Asia-Pacific (and a member of the executive board) at Julius Baer, said: "India is an important market for Julius Baer and the recent expansion of our domestic team attests to the immense potential we foresee in the region."
To stay one step ahead, we have upgraded our digital infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of our clients."
Ashish Gumashta, CEO of Julius Baer India, added, "Increasingly clients in India are looking for global investment opportunities and to address that need, we have launched the Next Generation feeder fund that enables Indian clients to capture the megatrends and next investment themes emerging across the globe."
Gumashta added, "To stay one step ahead, we have upgraded our digital infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of our clients."
... while BNP Paribas says 'Au revoir'
Separately, French bank BNP Paribas announced last week it is closing its onshore wealth management business in India. In a statement the bank said: "BNP Paribas Wealth Management has decided to exit its onshore wealth management business in India in order to focus on areas where its global footprint and diversified business strengths allow it to provide clients with more value-added services."
"This decision is unrelated to the current pandemic and has no impact on our continued wealth management growth strategy in Asia, which remains an important growth engine for our global franchise."The Paris-headquartered international bank stressed its continued commitment to its other Asian markets.