2013-03-10 16:00:41 - The 2013 Euromoney Private Banking and Wealth Management survey has again awarded AfrAsia Bank the “Best Local Private Bank in Mauritius” during an award ceremony held in London on 21 February attended by James Benoit, CEO of AfrAsia Bank and Thierry Vallet, Executive Director and Head of Private Banking.

Carried out annually by the financial magazine, Euromoney, the survey is primarily based on a peer ranking methodology and known as one of the leading benchmarks in the global wealth management industry. Euromoney has become the preeminent journal of the international finance community and is known to everyone working in the financial industries. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, the magazine is cited as the leading financial magazine worldwide.

“Winning any accolade is difficult; retaining it is even harder so we are delighted and honoured to see our private banking business being recognized once again. The service that we offer to our clients and the type of relationship that we build with them is the cornerstone of our success. We do

also leverage our global capabilities to bring excellence in advice and solutions to our clients and strive to continuously provide them with the best of breed differentiated products,” says James Benoit.

Considering the unstable economic environment and relatively slow growth in the domestic economy, AfrAsia Bank has continued to invest in its delivery capabilities and its people to better serve its customers focusing on its three business lines: Corporate and Investment Banking, Private Banking and Wealth Management and International Banking Solutions.

“Winning this award on a global stage serves as recognition of AfrAsia Bank’s continued commitment to creating value for our niche market and differentiating ourselves through our unique products and open architecture investment approach. We have recognised the need for an active advisory technique in investment and our aim is to exceed the expectations of our clients and meet their needs with tailored investment solutions through a timely process in all transparency. David Wells has recently joined our Private Banking department to set up and lead our expansion in the East Africa region, an addition to our team which reinforces our regional strategy in the emerging continent,” explains Thierry Vallet.

“We were moreover very pleased to learn that our sister company, AXYS Capital Group, has also been awarded the “Family Office Services 2013” by Euromoney. We are continually leveraging the synergy being created with our asset management arm, AXYS Capital Management, to deliver the best opportunities to our high net worth families through an array of structured products and timely investment funds,” added Thierry Vallet.

As a further confirmation of the bank’s successful strategy and testimony to the vote of confidence of its shareholders, AfrAsia has achieved a half yearly net profit after tax of Rs112,1 millions for the period which ended in December 2012. The Bank’s operating results reflect its commitment to building and maintaining collaborative and privileged relationships with its customers, which grew deposits by 14% to reach Rs22,4 billion over the half year under review. AfrAsia’s “bank different” strategy has captured the attention of international investors in the past months. The Bank successfully attracted a new shareholder on board, bringing an additional Tier 1 capital of Rs296,1 million in November 2012, to raise total issued capital to Rs1,7 billion. Given the strong financial performance for the year ended 30 June 2012, a dividend per share of Rs1.25 amounting to Rs88,1 million was paid during the second quarter of the financial year.

“After 5 years of success story, we are pleased that our efforts are once again being recognized with this fourth award by Euromoney, a world renowned financial magazine. We also thank our staff for their can-do attitude and unremitting dedication and our stakeholders and strategic partners for their trust and confidence in our work. It is this commitment that makes AfrAsia inherently different,” concludes James Benoit.