One of the main Liechtenstein-based private banks has spoken of how Asia offers opportunities, moving on from a period when some clients had pulled out money amid tax compliance issues.

Liechtenstein’s VP Bank says it is expanding Asian wealth management operations and considering partnerships to draw in more wealthy clients, its chief executive is quoted as having said.

The bank is seeking to move on from a period when money was removed by clients unable to deal with tighter global tax compliance rules, Alfred Moeckli told Bloomberg.

“We’re looking at various possibilities” to tap into the China market, Moeckli is quoted as having said.

Such ambitions to grow will pit the firm against the likes of LGT, another Liechtenstein-based bank that also operates in Asia. Since Liechtenstein banks have opened up their doors to authorities chasing down non-compliant clients over tax, such firms have had to re-think business strategy, with the fast-growing Asian market being an obvious destination for some. However, with some lenders such as Societe Generale, Barclays, ABN AMRO and ANZ shutting Asian private banking arms, the region has not proven an automatic route to success for firms unable to acquire profitable scale of business.

Moeckli said VP Bank is keen to push on from the recent regularisation of client accounts process that has affected it, along with dozens of other banks in Switzerland, Liechtenstein and certain other jurisdictions. “We have this all behind us, so we can now look forward and don’t have this tax compliance issue of our clientele any more,” he was quoted as saying. The CEO said the bank lost about a third of its customers since 2014 due to the tax issue.

VP Bank has made a number of Asian expansion moves. As reported earlier this year, VP Bank said that nearly 40 staff are being hired across Asia over the next two years. The bank oversaw around SFr40.4 billion of assets under management as at the end of last year. VP Bank (Singapore), part of VP Bank, in February appointed Samuel Witjaksono as market head of Indonesia. The hire is part of the firm's strategy to expand in Asia, it said at the time.