Sustainable private banking
The Sarasin Group's top priorities include investor protection through enhanced risk disclosure, measures to implement the strategy for avoiding non tax-compliant assets and also the assurance of fully compliant cross-border business.
Taking a leadership role with its strategy for avoiding non tax-compliant assets
From a very early stage Bank Sarasin opted to pursue a strategy for avoiding non tax-compliant assets. The underlying rationale was the Bank's conviction that only such a business model is oriented to the future. It focuses on the asset management of funds for which proper tax treatment is arranged by clients in their country of residence. The Bank is systematically pursuing its goal of no longer managing untaxed assets by the end of 2012. This landmark decision minimises the risks for all parties concerned. The implementation of its strategy for avoiding non tax-compliant assets, for which the Bank has introduced systematic processes, is a core project of the Sarasin Group as a whole.
Compliant cross-border business
The Bank continues to make selective investments in order to drive the geographical diversification of its business base in international growth markets. At the same time, it focuses on selected country markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, coupled with a wide range of onshore and/or crossborder offerings. The Sarasin Group is well aware that more restrictive legal and regulatory frameworks place ever-greater demands on client relationship managers involved in cross-border business activities. For Sarasin, compliance with market-specific and regulatory requirements in Switzerland and in its target markets is therefore paramount. A clear organisational focus on the specific underlying conditions in the markets not only contributes to further enhancement of the professional quality of client relationship managers, who are free to concentrate on the unique aspects of a dedicated market, but also the minimisation of risks to the Bank itself.
Clients benefit from enhanced risk disclosure
Sarasin was also one of the first banks in Switzerland to introduce the EU MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) for clients in Switzerland in 2010. In doing so, it has also opted to minimise risk further. The Bank is esteemed for its high-quality consultation, of which the maxim "Know your clients" and the determination of clients' risk tolerance and appetite form an integral part. Experience in 2011 demonstrates that the strategy is clearly paying off.
