Greek billionaire family’s EFG says ‘realistic’ to hire 100 wealth bankers

EFG International is ramping up hiring globally this year with an addition of about 100 wealth bankers a “realistic” number, according to board member Boris Collardi.

“We are hiring very actively,” Collardi told Haslinda Amin in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Singapore on Tuesday (Jul 4). Collardi said the firm has hired about 30 bankers in Asia, in line with EFG’s strategy to expand in Asia, particularly in China and South-east Asia.

EFG, established in 1995 by the Greek billionaire Latsis family, has several hundred million Swiss francs of excess capital for deals, CEO Giorgio Pradelli said in a January interview. Targets will be in key markets that include Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as London and Europe, which are also among the areas where the bank plans to hire, he said at the time.

With the merger of UBS Group and Credit Suisse, Collardi sees everyone “looking for opportunities” and expects market consolidation in the sector to eventually resume. The former chief executive officer of Julius Baer Group advises Zurich-based EFG about a growth strategy in Asia that may include acquisitions.

The Swiss firm is among international wealth firms competing to expand market share in Asia. It ranks 19th among wealth firms by assets in Asia excluding China, trailing the largest in the region UBS and HSBC Holdings, according to the 2022 league table by Asian Private Banker.

Collardi led a period of breakneck expansion through nearly a dozen acquisitions and joint ventures at Julius Baer, before taking a role as partner at Banque Pictet & Cie in 2018. He took the EFG board seat last year, representing the Latsis family, while also buying a 3.5 per cent stake in the firm from board member Spiro J Latsis. BLOOMBERG