Credit Suisse Private Banking USA has ambitious plans to increase its clout in the U.S. wealth management market. It’s one of the few firms that has managed to attract new assets over the past year and has set ambitious goals to increase net new assets by CHF 25-30 billion ($24-$29 billion) over the next three years, from its current CHF 63 billion ($61.5 billion).

In a presentation today in Zurich, Anthony DeChellis, head of Private Banking Americas, told investors that there had been a client flight to quality and stability in the U.S. that benefited Credit Suisse. It added a net CHF 13.8 billion ($13.5 billion) in client assets in the U.S. in 2008, and CHF 300 million ($293 million) in the first half of 2009.

To reach the new ambitious targets, the division plans to boost its number of financial advisors from 400 to 700. In 2008 it added 127 new advisors with an average trailing-12 production of $2.2 million. It has brought in an additional 32 advisors with an average trailing-12 production of $1.8 million so far this year.

Bing Waldert, director of Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates, says the high-net-worth clients targeted by Credit Suisse tend to be more conservative and less inclined to change advisors. However, Credit Suisse is benefiting from the disruption among its competitors. “Merrill Lynch, Citi, UBS are all trying to play in the private banking market but there’s a lot of distrust of these firms at the moment,” he says. “It means more high-net-worth clients are likely to switch firms.”  

Alois Pirker, research director with Boston-based consultancy Aite Group, says the Credit Suisse has particularly taken advantage of the troubles facing its hometown rival UBS. “The Credit Suisse/UBS rivalry is playing out on every continent,” he says. UBS saw a net outflow of CHF 10.6 billion ($10.3 billion) in U.S. client assets in 2008.

Pirker says that the growth targets are bold, and they indicate that firm doesn’t think it will be affected by the negative publicity surrounding the Swiss banking model. He also sees room for another private bank in the U.S. market. “I don’t think that market is overly well-served,” he says. “The way private banking is done on other continents is more holistic than here, and that is a trend you are going to see here as well.”