NBAD Private Bank (Suisse), the wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, has announced big expansion plans for the bank with a major focus on the private banking unit.

Since its launch in 2007, the Geneva-based subsidiary of NBAD has witnessed solid growth with its 2011 profits ballooning to over CHF 3 million ($3.12 million).

Under its three-year expansion plan, NBAD Suisse will boost its private banking team with additional hires during the 2012 to 2015 period, said a top official while speaking at a cermony to mark the bank's fifth anniversary at the Parc de Eaux-Vives in Geneva.

“We have been very pleased with the strong stable growth, which was built on our steady approach of building up the Bank step-by-step, focusing on handpicking key talents within Geneva,” remarked Khaled Suleiman, the CEO of NBAD Suisse.

The bank has grown from strength to strength and is poised for a record performance this year as well, he stated.

According to Suleiman,  the bank's assets under management (AUM) have grown to around CHF2 billion

Despite the financial crisis commencing only a few months after the launch of  NBAD Suisse, it has built up its private banking business, taking a conservative approach on client acceptance by applying stringent compliance standards.

Its key achievements include the launch of the trade finance operations in mid-2008; purchase of its Quai de l’Ile building in November 2009 and migration to the Avaloq banking system in 2010, he added.-TradeArabia News Service