Swiss bank Julius Baer eyes acquisitions

FRANKFURT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - The financial market crisis is creating takeover opportunities for Swiss bank Julius Baer (BAER.VX), the bank's chairman said on Friday.

"We have the capital and we have the management," Raymond Baer told a news conference.

"Times like these create good opportunities. If there is something that fits with our core business, we'll look at it," he said, adding the asset management industry was facing enormous change.

Switzerland's third-biggest asset manager after UBS (UBSN.VX) and Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) gives its home market priority but could make purchases in Asia or Germany, Baer said.

He intends to intensify the bank's focus on wealthy customers and said the bank stands to benefit from changing client demands as a result of the financial crisis.

"Customers are changing. They are tending to move more toward smaller institutions rather than big bank groups," Baer said.

Julius Baer said it has already reached a goal of hiring 50 to 60 private bankers this year, adding continued new asset and client growth gave it a solid base for future revenue growth.

The company has benefited from the problems of former Swiss banking champion UBS, which has seen strong outflows of money to its rivals this year as clients were scared off by its heavy writedowns on risky mortgage assets.

Julius Baer has about 250 billion euros ($317.1 billion) in assets under management and forecasts rising client numbers in Germany, where it has done business for nearly 20 years.

Baer said he expected Switzerland to maintain its international reputation as a financial centre, despite current heated talk over the country as a tax haven and damaging fallout from the global financial crisis.

Although Switzerland and its banks had made mistakes in the past and must now rethink the financial system structure there, the crisis had showed the nation's stability as a financial centre, Baer said. The country also benefited from stable politics, he said.

"Whoever wants a good car comes to Germany. Whoever wants a good bank comes to Switzerland," he said.

Germany called last month for Switzerland to be put on a list of uncooperative tax havens that currently includes Monaco, Andorra and Liechtenstein.

Switzerland has reacted angrily to the call by German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck, noting it had already made concessions to the European Union in recent years, introducing a withholding tax on interest from savings of non-residents. (Reporting by Patricia Uhlig; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)