Clariden Leu is open to making an acquisition at home or abroad, according to chief executive officer Bernard Stalder. "We do not rule ou...

Clariden Leu is open to making an acquisition at home or abroad, according to chief executive officer Bernard Stalder. "We do not rule out making an acquisition, provided that the quality, the business model, the culture and, of course, the price are right," Mr Stalder told Neue Zuercher Zeitung. "In the first place we see an acquisition abroad and secondly in growth markets. For example, one could find in Switzerland a bank which has a full international clientele," he told NZZ. According to Mr Stalder, Clariden Leu’s business plan is looking for annual trading profit growth of 15 per cent and cost growth of 5 per cent. Clariden Leu this week unveiled its new logo and corporate branding. The new bank, the merger of Credit Suisse’s independently run private banks, Clariden, Bank Leu, Bank Hofmann, Banca di Gestione Patrimoniale, and Credit Suisse Fides, a securities dealer, will be launched in January 2007, subject to regulatory approvals.