By Alison Tudor
TOKYO (Reuters) - The private banking arm of France's Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it has started to make profits in Japan after establishing a presence in the world's second-largest economy five years ago.
Foreign private bankers are keen to woo Japan's wealthy, but they have accepted that it takes time to win these conservative investors.
"We need to be seen as trusted advisers for these clients, so it takes time, but it is also very rewarding," said Alain Simon, president and chief executive of SG Private Banking Japan.
SG Private Banking entered Japan in 2002 by buying the Japanese operations of Chase Trust Bank. Its patience is now starting to bear fruit.
"This calendar year we are doing better than expected and we should exceed the budgeted profit for 2007," Simon told the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Tokyo on Wednesday.
SG Private Banking Japan Ltd is increasing assets under management at a rate of 30 percent a year, and they should hit 650 billion yen ($5.55 billion) by the end of 2007.
Private banking is a relatively new concept in Japan, where clients have traditionally hoarded their assets in cash or property. So raising the resources to provide a service tailored to clients' needs may also take longer than elsewhere.
Staffing is a key issue in Japan, as few bankers are equipped to hobnob with the wealthy about high finance. Continued...
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