The Swiss banking group Julius Bär has received two awards for being the “Best Private Bank in Switzerland” and having the “Best Private Bank Strategy for Growth”.

The honours were awarded by the Financial Times publications Professional Wealth Management and The Banker.

In a statement on Friday, Julius Bär said the awards were recognition of its “strong commitment” to its Swiss home market and of the bank’s profitable growth strategy.

Julius Bär was competing against 75 private banking and wealth institutions from Europe, North and Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

The group said the jury’s decision to name it as the best private bank in Switzerland reflected a number of factors, including “an analysis of asset growth over the last three years, the continued hiring of relationship managers and the good financial health of the business”.

Judges made the award for the category Best Private Bank Strategy for Growth for the bank’s “commitment and efforts to attract net new assets in Asia – now officially Julius Bär’s second home market – as well as in Switzerland”.

Total client assets at the bank amounted to SFr255 billion ($257.9 billion) at the end of June 2010, with assets under management accounting for SFr166 billion.

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