Swiss wealth manager lends prestige to Indian bank's cross-border efforts. India's Axis Bank has allied with Geneva-based Banque Privee Edmond de Rothschild to offer a suite of wealth-management services to Indians living abroad.

Another kind of private

"As we have embarked on creating an international franchise for the bank, a key aspect of our international strategy is to focus on financial advisory services and wealth management solutions for overseas Indians," says P.J. Nayak, chairman and CEO of Axis Bank.

The services will be offered through Axis Bank branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

Mumbai-based Axis, formerly UTI Bank, will own the actual client relationships; the Rothschild family's Swiss private bank -- part of LCF Rothschild Group -- will lend its expertise in wealth preservation to help clients diversify their investment portfolios.

LCF Rothschild Group has 30 offices in 19 countries. Axis Bank -- a private bank in the Indian sense (meaning it isn't owned by the national government) -- had 508 branches at the end of March 2007. -FWR

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