The performance of ING Private Banking was one of the highlights of the Dutch bank's 2006 report just published, showing an increase in client assets under management of 17 per cent in the period to €59.2 billion ($78.6 billion), as pre-tax profits rose 16 per cent to €242 million. Growth came mainly in Belgium and Asia. In Belgium, for example, assets went up by €1.5 billion to €13 billion, in Asia by €2 billion to €10.1 billion. ING Private Banking intends to expand significantly its global presence, recruiting up to 250 new client advisors mainly in new and developing markets and developing onshore private banking operations with ING Vysya Bank in India and Bank of Beijing, the Chinese bank in which ING holds a stake. Europe remains its largest private banking market, with assets concentrated in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In both Holland and Belgium, ING Private Banking claims to have taken advantage of ING’s retail and wholesale distribution channels to improve cross-selling capabilities and achieve relatively strong growth in mature markets. ING’s Swiss operations showed strong resilience during 2006 and continued to expand in Russia, central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and in Latin America, where the focus is on Mexico and Brazil. In Asia the bank has grown private banking client assets under management by 34 per cent a year over the past five years and in 2006 was named a “top five” player in a regional wealth management survey. ING claims a strong record in advisory services in Asia and that the business is well positioned to benefit from further opportunities in the region.