Private banking may conjure images of secret Swiss bank accounts, clubby offices and cocktail parties with the ultra-wealthy. But Bassam Salem, the head of Citi Private Bank in Asia, insists it's not at all the high-flying industry it's perceived to be.

'Private banking is a boring business,' said the 54-year-old Swiss-Lebanese. 'Driving Ferraris and exotic cars is not the preserve of us private bankers.'

Boring or not, the industry is growing steadily in Asia. Mr. Salem said Citi's private-bank profits in Asia were up 60% last year, though he didn't disclose the exact figure.

Citi boasts the pole position in the increasinglycompetitive private-banking race, with $193 billion in assets under management, according to the last survey by trade magazine Private Banker International.

While the amount trumps the sums managed by other heavyweight banks, Asia's rich are increasingly wary of putting money in private bankers' control. According to a report last year by Boston Consulting group, Asia's high-net-worth individuals placed just 4% of their portfolios at the full discretion of banks, down from 7% in 2006, and far lower than the 23% share that banks control among Europe's wealthy.

Moreover, Citi is facing increasing competition in Asia. Regulatory changes and falling revenue in Europe have prompted many banks from that continent to expand eastward