An agreement has been made by the Swiss and Chinese institutions, a sign of continuing deals involving the Asian country and European private banks.

China-based Noah Holdings has entered a cooperation pact with Geneva-headquartered Union Bancaire Privée through which it grows research and product design capacity, and UBP distributes services to China. The move is part of a trend of Chinese institutions hooking up with European private banks.

The move also comes as UBP is going through the process of absorbing the non-UK wealth management arm of Royal Bank of Scotland, having agreed to acquire the business earlier this year.

Noah’s client needs have grown recently at an “unprecedented rate”; global product sales volume and global asset allocation, conducted through Noah’s Hong Kong subsidiary, surged 262 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 760 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, the firms said in a press release today.

“In light of such explosive growth, Noah is taking steps to rapidly build its capabilities. UBP is one of the world’s best capitalised banks and one of Europe’s largest pure-player wealth and asset managers, with asset under management close to $100 billion,” they said.

Among other recent China/Europe agreements in private banking, BHF Kleinwort Benson Group, a bank with a strong German heritage and business footprint, is the subject of a bid for its outstanding shares by Fosun Group. Such a deal would add to an agreement Fosun has already struck to buy Hauck & Aufhäuser, the venerable German private banking and financial firm. Such transactions are a sign of how Chinese institutions are seeking to diversify product offerings and tap into the expertise, as they see it, of private bank players from developed market economies.

“We trust we have the right investment solutions for Chinese high-net-worth individuals. Noah is the most successful wealth manager in China - a key market for us - with assets under management that are growing exponentially, and we are very happy to combine our strengths in order to provide their private clients with high-quality products,” Nicholas Faller, co-chief executive of UBP Asset Management.

Wang Jing-Bo, Noah’s co-founder, chairman, and CEO, added: “This strategic cooperation is one of a few core steps we are taking to ensure we have the best global wealth management platform in China. UBP has strong expertise in sought-after fields such as hedge fund selection.”

"The association of their private banking heritage and asset management proficiency warrants that their investment solutions are geared towards high-net-worth individuals’ needs,” she said.