UPDATE 1-Unsettled Sarasin sees more client outflows in 2012

Thursday, 23 February 2012

UPDATE 1-Unsettled Sarasin sees more client outflows in 2012

Thu Feb 23, 2012 4:26am EST

* Sarasin had outflows of 2.4 bln Sfr in H2
* Compares with net new money of 3.9 bln Sfr in H1
* Assets under management drop 6.7 pct in 2011
* Shares rise 0.7 pct (Adds details, background)

ZURICH, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Swiss private bank Sarasin , rattled by uncertainty over its ownership and a data leak on the account of the former central bank head, expects clients to continue to withdraw assets this year after big outflows in second half of 2011.

Sarasin said clients withdrew a net 2.4 billion Swiss francs ($2.63 billion)in the second half of 2011 as assets under management slipped 6.7 percent on the year to 96.4 billion francs at the end of 2011, mainly due to sluggish market performance.

After months of speculation about its Sarasin holding, Dutch cooperative Rabobank sold its majority stake to Brazilian-Swiss private bank Safra in November.

"New clients showed a great reluctance to commit funds in the second half of 2011 because of media speculation about the change in Bank Sarasin's shareholder structure," Sarasin said in a statement on Thursday.

However clients were rattled again in January when the bank revealed an employee had breached strict bank secrecy laws by passing the bank account details of Swiss National Bank Chairman Philipp Hildebrand to his political opponents.

That leak -- which revealed details of a lucrative dollar trade by Hildebrand's wife just weeks before the central bank moved to cap the franc -- ultimately cost Hildebrand his job.

"We are convinced that our focus on sustainability and tax-compliant assets will pay off in the long run and that with the backing of Safra as a well-capitalised majority shareholder we can look forward to exciting prospects," Chief Executive Joachim Straehle said.

At 0925 GMT, Sarasin shares were trading 0.71 percent firmer.

However the bank said it expected more outflows in 2012 due to its shift to focus on managing only taxed assets.

Switzerland announced plans on Wednesday to force its secretive banks to do more to make sure foreign clients' money is taxed in an attempt to shake off its image as a haven for untaxed funds after pressure from U.S. and German tax probes.

Sarasin said it hoped to recruit 75 new client advisers this year and reiterated a target for assets under management of 150 billion francs by 2015. ($1 = 0.9116 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Katie Reid and Emma Thomasson.; Editing by Jane Merriman and Hans-Juergen Peters)

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