As head of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific, Benz will report to Sallie Krawcheck, head of Merrill Lynch GWM.

Benz, a Swiss national, recently headed the investment products and services unit in Asia for UBS. He joins BofA Merrill Lynch early next year, the US firm confirmed to this publication.

Benz, who moved to Hong Kong in 2003, has worked in investment banking, asset management and wealth management in Switzerland, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong with UBS.

The appointment comes at a time when Western wealth management firms – BofA Merrill being the world’s largest – are looking to extend their footprint in the Asian wealth market.

Yesterday, Julius Baer, the Swiss bank, stated it intends to expand its Asia wealth management operations, with moves including a decision to convert its Hong Kong office into a booking centre.

“The unprecedented rate of wealth creation in the Asia Pacific region means our wealth management business is of critical strategic importance to us,” said Brian Brille, president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific.

Asia Pacific economies continue to grow at a fast pace and the creation of wealth is rising in step. The wealth of Asia Pacific HNW individuals stood at $9.7 trillion at the end of 2009, up 30.9 per cent on a year earlier and above the $9.5 trillion held by Europe’s HNW individuals, according to the Merrill Lynch CapGemini 2010 World Wealth Report. For the first time ever, the HNW population in Asia Pacific was as large as that of Europe, at 3 million.