Assets under management soars 76% in leading Asia-Pacific banks

Citi surpasses UBS as the leading high net worth wealth manager in Asia-Pacific according to a Private Banker International report.

Private Banker International's Top 20 Asia-Pacific Benchmark, a survey of the region's leading private banks released on Wednesday reveals that assets under management (AuM) held by the Top 20 Asia-Pacific banks has increased 76% to nearly $1 trillion since the last survey of its kind in 2007.

The study, which ranked banks by AuM for HNW clients with investable assets of more than $1m, shows that global banks dominate the top spots. Citi ranked as the leading HNW wealth manager in the region followed by UBS, which narrowly lost its position as the world's largest wealth manager in 2009. HSBC comes a close third creating a three horse race for the claim of the Asia-Pacific region's leading private bank. Local banks too are making progress with DBS, OCBC's Bank of Singapore and Hang Seng Bank claiming market positions of ninth, 10th and 12th respectively.

Nicholas Moody, editor of Private Banker International comments: "This latest survey shows how dramatically the industry's landscape has shifted in the post-financial crisis years. One of the most interesting aspects is the success retail banks have had in nurturing a pipeline of wealthy clients through their affluent banking channels. Private banks without a steady stream of clients from retail banking franchises are focusing on increasing market share through hiring initiatives and improving their share of wallet among existing customers."

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