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Bloomberg
UBS Group AG topped the list of the 20 largest wealth firms in Asia for the sixth consecutive year even as assets under management declined in the region, Asian Private Banker said.
While the Zurich-based bank continued to dominate the regional top spot by a wide margin, with assets totaling $357 billion last year, Credit Suisse Group AG slightly narrowed the gap, the Hong Kong-based publication said on its website. UBS saw assets under management decline about 7 percent, while Credit Suisse’s assets edged up 1.5 percent to $205 billion.
UBS wasn’t the only firm to find assets shrinking last year as market turbulence deterred rich clients from deploying their wealth. Across the industry in Asia, assets under management “ground to a halt as challenging market conditions tempered activity and impeded performance,†APB said.
Total AUM at the 20 largest private banks in Asia excluding China declined 3.6 percent to $1.63 trillion, with just five institutions seeing increases, according to APB. Relationship- manager headcount of these banks totaled 5,593, with expansion at firms including UBS, HSBC Holdings Plc and Bank of Singapore. Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered Plc are among those that saw lower staff numbers, the publication said.
“The return of volatility after a remarkably calm 2017, a further breakdown in the correlation between stocks and bonds, and the US-China trade dispute conspired to exert pressure on private banks’ top lines,†APB said.