Julius Baer is looking to enter India, one of the world's fastest growing wealth markets, by establishing onshore banking in the country, a top executive has said.

The Swiss private banking house Julius Baer is looking to enter India, one of the fastest growing global wealth markets, by setting up onshore private banking in the country, according to an interview given by Thomas Meier, the firm’s chief executive for Asia and the Middle East.

"We are seriously contemplating to open an onshore entity in India," Meier told Reuters in Singapore. He also said that the bank believes an onshore approach is necessary for key markets like India as there is an increased demand for local financial products.

"You see a big flow of funds [going] back into India attracted by the phenomenal growth and this is likely to continue," Meier told the publication, adding that in order to tap this money as well as domestic clients in India the firm will need a licence.

Meier may consider obtaining a non-bank financial company's (NBFC) licence, which would allow the firm to engage in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares, stock, bonds, debentures and securities. Another option that Meier has not ruled out is an acquisition in India by Julius Baer, which recently bought Brazil-based GPS, said to be one of the Latin American country's largest independent wealth managers.

Julius Baer currently has offerings for wealthy non-resident Indians, including teams of private bankers based in Singapore, Dubai and Zurich.

Global financial services firms with wealth offerings have been ramping up their services in the region. Recently Morgan Stanley opened a private wealth management branch in Chennai, its second location in South India, and in November last year RBS appointed Prateek Pant as head of wealth solutions at its private banking business based in Mumbai.

The opportunities for wealth management firms in the country are growing, as confirmed by a recent report by Boston-based consultancy Celent which found that the organised wealth management sector in India has risen to 60 per cent market share in 2009 from 40 per cent in 2007. It also found that India is poised to have a $1.2 trillion wealth management market by 2014.