J.Baer says Swiss offshore banking strong-paper

ZURICH, March 17 (Reuters) - Swiss banks should still be able to attract foreign clients currently unnerved by changes to country's rules on banking secrecy, Julius Baer (BAER.VX) chairman Raymond Baer said in a newspaper interview.

"International clients will continue to appreciate the financial privacy traditionally anchored in Switzerland," the chairman of Switzerland's biggest dedicated wealth manager said in an interview for Wednesday's edition of Finanz und Wirtschaft.

Switzerland last week offered to relax strict bank secrecy in some tax evasion cases in a response to a global crackdown on tax havens that has been rattling the offshore banking industry. [ID:nLD122324]

Baer said the government had been right to compromise on banking secrecy given prevailing political conditions, adding that 2009 would be an unpredictable year.

"Decisive is that the core of banking secrecy, the protection of privacy, is kept and that it doesn't come to an automatic exchange of information," he said.

The company comprises private bank Julius Baer, hedge fund arm GAM and U.S. asset management unit Artio, which is slated for an initial public offering once market conditions allow.

"The proceeds will either be used for share buybacks or the acquisition of a private bank," Baer said.

Buying opportunities could present themselves from some small private banks being forced to sell or foreign banks choosing to get rid of their Swiss private banking operations.

Baer said risk management functioned well at GAM, which did not invest in Madoff or Stanford products.

"We are convinced that we can win further mandates, particularly from institutional investors," he added. (Reporting by Jason Rhodes; Editing by Andre Grenon)