(Bloomberg) -- Mizuho Financial Group Inc. struck a business alliance with Lombard Odier to boost its private-banking operation serving Japan’s rich clients.

Details of the tie-up are still being worked out, though Mizuho’s customers will be given access to the Swiss firm’s products and services, according to a joint statement Thursday from Mizuho and the Japanese unit of Lombard Odier.

The move is part of broader efforts by Japanese banks to build up their wealth management businesses to lure entrepreneurs and other affluent customers. Competition has been heating up as the banks see the sector as a stable source of fee income. 

Mizuho said separately that its lack of brand power as a luxury banking service provider and the limited expertise of its private bankers are among the challenges it faces. The bank is addressing the shortfall by tapping the Swiss company’s strength in these areas, it said. 

While Mizuho has been providing private-banking services through its various subsidiaries for years, it’s made some recent organizational changes to hone its approach, adding a wealth management strategic project team in 2020. Mizuho is targeting clients with household assets of at least 3 billion yen ($22 million).

Lombard Odier, which has been running money for the wealthy since 1796, has been expanding in Asia through strategic alliances with local firms. Over several years, it’s reached agreements with banks including Kasikornbank Private Banking in Thailand, Indonesia’s Mandiri Private and UnionBank Private Banking in the Philippines. 

The Geneva-based firm manages about 358 billion Swiss francs ($387 billion) overall, according to its website.  

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