Global Private Banking Awards 2014: Winners’ Profiles – Regional Winners

Best Global Private Bank
Best Private Bank in Asia
Best Private Bank for Philanthropy Services
Best Global Brand in Private Banking     
UBS Wealth Management

UBS Wealth Management, which has once more proved the leading award winner, continues to see Asia as its major growth engine in private banking, bearing in mind that wealth creation in the region is currently more than double the GDP growth rate.

Having celebrated its 50-year anniversary in Hong Kong in September, there is a massive self-confidence running through the bank’s regional staff offices, with little doubt that they are working for the region’s leading wealth manager. Plans are also afoot to leverage Asian experience in fast growing markets in Latin America and the Middle East.

That said, UBS is clearly not turning its back on Switzerland, where it has remained a controversial player, blamed by many for giving private banking a bad name in its very birthplace. There is a strong recognition that there is work in progress in rebuilding the bank’s reputation on home soil.

UBS was the first bank to settle with the US Department of Justice, paying out $780m (€616m) regarding charges of tax evasion on behalf of wealthy Americans. “It is good for UBS that this matter was resolved back in 2010 and we do not wish to make any further comment,” says Jürg Zeltner, who runs the global UBS Wealth Management operation.

Yet he admits that improvements had to be made to the client offer in Switzerland in order to win back customers. “UBS has taken great steps in rebuilding client trust in Switzerland and these measures are beginning to bear fruit,” he says. “We have seen strong inflows in net new money, confirming that we are heading in the right direction.”

One of the major pushes to improve the bank’s image has been to improve the philanthropy offering, now celebrating its tenth year, with the team having grown to more than 30 staff. The latest plan is to not just keep this as a separate unit, but to integrate philanthropy increasingly into mainstream private client choices.

“One of our aspirations,” confirms Mr Zeltner, “is to make philanthropy a part of every client conversation and to offer our clients the tools and advice to direct a portion of their wealth for positive social impact.”  YB

Best Private Bank in Europe
Best Private Bank in France
BNP Paribas Wealth Management

BNP Paribas Wealth Management was acknowledged by PWM’s panel of judges as one of the few major global players to have a true pan-European onshore expansion strategy in private banking.

Managing €295bn in client assets, the French giant is the largest wealth manager in the eurozone, as well as the dominant player in its French home market, where it oversees €77bn. The bank also has strong positions in Belgium, Italy and Luxembourg.

The growth strategy is two fold. Firstly, there is focus on enhancing an integrated business model with retail networks in France, Belgium and Italy. Secondly, there is a push in developing new markets including Turkey, Poland, Morocco and Ukraine. BNP Paribas has also invested substantial resources in recent years in recruiting top relationship managers in Asia, where the bank is making concerted efforts since the mid-1990s to establish a strong position in the ultra high net worth space. It has made strong inroads into Hong Kong’s community of billionaires, with support of trading desks from the corporate banking division. One of the services provided is good access to private equity and co-investment projects.

Management has developed a global Key Client Group, servicing customers, including family offices, with investible assets greater than €25m, with a particular emphasis on capturing growth from Asia and the Middle East. Across all of these target markets, there is also much commitment to digital innovation.

Since 2008, BNP Paribas has been heavily involved in providing philanthropic services for wealthy clients and is now stepping up its market standing across the crucial entrepreneurial segment of potential customers, both in France and broader global markets. Specific teams have been set up to service entrepreneurs in France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The bank aims to assist entrepreneurs, business owners and the self-employed community in the management of both their private and business assets, as well as projects related to the structuring, trans-generational transfer or sale of their business. YB

Best Private Bank in Central and Eastern Europe
Best Private Bank in Austria
Best Private bank in Croatia
Erste Private Banking

Erste Group Bank scooped a hatrick of awards this year, winning best private bank in Austria, Croatia and Central and Eastern Europe.

Peter Ipkovich, head of private banking CEE at Erste Bank, says:  “We have worked on the product portfolio in all countries. For example, discretionary portfolio management is now offered in all our banking entities, and we have also standardised the product range across the whole group.”

Mr Ipkovich also highlights the new client scoring model concept to identify suitable customers based not only on assets but also on behavioural factors as well as age, trading history and profession. New concepts for client retention and complaints management were also implemented. “From my point of view, private banking is a lot of small pieces that you must fit together like a mosaic, shaping each and every stone and putting it in the right place,” he says.

Mr Ipkovich predicts the whole industry will see major changes due to Mifid II. “But it will not just present obstacles – it will force us to think through all our processes and determine which ones are doing the job we really want them to do. We do not see Mifid II just as a burden, rather as a corset that also provides greater security.”

Erste is developing a training plan which will end with an accreditation test. “This provides a career path, as well as ensuring good quality service and compliance with the new legal environment,” he says. CJ

Best Private Bank in the Middle East
Best Private Bank in Russia
Credit Suisse

While government-affiliated Russian banks have been affected by EU or US economic sanctions for Moscow’s role in the Ukrainian conflict, Credit Suisse won the award best private bank in Russia for the second year running, claiming to be “the only Swiss private bank with an onshore offering that provides truly local advice,” according to Michael Knoll, head of private banking in Russia.

“We think the sanctions announced so far will affect economic growth in Russia,” says Mr Knoll. “We are partnering with our clients and help them navigate through potential challenges so they can achieve their financial goals,” he says, explaining that the institution fully adheres to all global and local policies and that Russia remains a very important market for Credit Suisse.

Serving mainly entrepreneurs, through the ‘one bank’ model clients can benefit from “the strong links between the different parts of the global organisation, which open the door to a broad spectrum of investment opportunities”.

However, the bank needs to keep developing and training its relationship managers to ensure each client gains “immediate access” to the whole range of relevant solutions Credit Suisse offers, admits Mr Knoll, and also strengthen wealth planning with trusted external partners.

To address the increasing war for talent, particularly relevant in Russia where the pool of potential relationship managers with private banking knowledge is limited, Credit Suisse developed a new internal programme called ‘Emerging Market Academy’ which helps the bank to attract and train hires from non-traditional backgrounds into “fully-fledged” relationship managers.

The bank aims to build up its coverage of key Russian regions, such as in the south of the country and the Urals, “to serve local entrepreneurs with significant pools of wealth, so far largely untapped by international banks”.

In the Middle East, where HSBC has lost ground over the past couple of years, having restructured its business, closed down its brokerage unit and cut back on investment banking, Credit Suisse received significant inflows from high net worth individuals, states Faranak Foroughi, one of the awards’ judges and founder of Tharwa Management Consultancy, a wealth advisory and management consultancy firm in Dubai. “Credit Suisse offers a true private banking relationship, and is highly respected for investment advisory and the ability to work with the investment banking arm,” she says.

Following a review of its global wealth management operations, with Credit Suisse pulling back from private banking in several markets, renewed focus is on countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, where the bank expects to further develop and grow.

 “In view of the evolving industry landscape and, in particular, the regulatory developments in many international markets, we need to continue to manage our resources as effectively as possible, and make sure we continue to focus our attention on growth markets and core client segments,” says Bruno Daher, Mena CEO at Credit Suisse, explaining there is also need “to reduce complexity in client coverage by
focusing on servicing clients strictly according to their domicile.”

Globally, last year Credit Suisse attracted around SFr19bn (€15.7bn) in net new assets from wealth management clients, bringing total assets under management to SFr791bn. ET

Best Private Bank in Latin America
Santander Private Banking

The acquisition of the private banking business of BNP Paribas in Miami last year, with around $3bn (€2.35bn) of client assets sourced from Latin America, which followed the acquisition of Standard & Chartered’s  Latam clients’ portfolio the year before, shows that Santander, the bank with the largest presence in Latin America – boasting 5,700 offices across eight countries – is not shy to take advantage of buying opportunities to expand its franchise in the region.

With €63bn in client assets under management at the end of 2013, Santander Private Banking Latin America saw net new money surge more than 70 per cent to €7.3bn, with operating profit growing 9 per cent last year.

One of the bank’s key differentiating factors is its global offering designed to meet all customers’ financial needs, explains José Salgado, global head of private banking at Santander. This includes tailored solutions ranging from financing, banking and investment products, to wealth/succession planning and real estate.

Competitors’ offerings in the region “is limited at times to dressing up an investment advisory service, which does not cover other private banking customers’ basic needs,” such as those related to transactions or funding, he says. “The biggest challenge we have in Latin America in the medium term is to make sure that HNW individuals are aware of the advantages of working with a specialised bank,” states Mr Salgado.

Resources at Santander are being invested to further improve technology and develop a multi-channel communication strategy. “Continuous changes in the marketplace, both in terms of regulation, as well as product and service trends, forces us to continually review our IT platform to meet customer demand.”

Retaining and attracting talent, to support growth and enhance customer service, are key concerns for the bank.

In Spain, the completion of the merger between Banif, Santander and Banesto has created new synergies, with Santander customers now benefiting from open architecture in investment funds and advisory services, and Banif clientele gaining access to a broader range of insurance services and credit alternatives. ET