The Swiss private bank created the new position in attempt to grow its Asia business through a network of partnerships with domestic banks.
“We believe the future of private banking is largely onshore,” Vincent Mangenat, the firm’s new CEO for Asia-Pacific, said in a statement. He added that the bank expected the partnership business to be the key driver of its growth in the region.
Roulin has 16 years of business development experience with LO in Europe and Asia. He will be based in Singapore and will report to Mangenat.
Lombard Odier’s partnership business model involves providing services to domestic partner banks such as fund management and supporting high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Lombard Odier’s partnerships in Asia
| Country | Partner institution | Year initiated |
| Japan | Six regional banks | 1992 |
| Korea | Kookmin Bank | 2012 |
| China | China Industrial Bank | 2014 |
| Thailand | Kasikornbank | 2014 |
| Philippines | Union Bank | 2016 |
The latest partnership came in August 2016, when the bank signed an agreement with Union Bank in Philippines.
At the end of 2016, the private bank managed $230bn of client assets globally, according to the bank’s statement.
The bank hopes the partnership strategy will help it avoid the fate of some peer banks, which have had to exit Asia as industry consolidation continues.
In December, Edmond de Rothschild announced plans to close its Hong Kong office. Only days ealier, ABN Amro sold its private banking operations in Asia to LGT. In November, Bank of Singapore completed the acquisition of Barclay’s wealth and investment management business in the region and in October, ANZ sold its business to DBS.
