Ahead of the new office opening, which is subject to regulatory approval by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission, Sarasin said the bank will build a new private banking team to serve clients in the Berne/central Swiss region.

"The Berne region provides extremely interesting growth perspectives for Bank Sarasin", Eric Sarasin, head of private and institutional clients Switzerland division, said.

"We want to exploit these opportunities and further strengthen our position as a leading Swiss private bank by opening a new branch office in Berne," Mr Sarasin said.

The Sarasin Group is now represented in 17 locations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. At the end of June 2008, it managed total client assets of SFr81.4 billion ($72.2 billion) and employed around 1,300 staff. Its majority shareholder is Rabobank, the Dutch bank.