Analysts tracking the trajectory of Asian wealth and trends around gross domestic product are free to peruse government data, surveys and all available reports. Yet some of the most telling clues as to what is going on in this fast-growing region can be found inside the balance sheet of DBS Private Bank.
Led by group head Joseph Poon, the private bank has a deep and active presence in 19 markets across Greater China, southeast Asia and south Asia.
From where Poon sits, business is good, despite the myriad global risks that have unnerved markets such as the fallout from Covid-19, geopolitical upheaval and the battle by central banks to curb inflation.
In 2022, DBS’s wealth management division (comprising DBS Treasures, Treasures private client and the private bank) reported a 2% rise in assets under management to S$297 billion ($221 billion). In most years, this would not be cause for celebration, but given the carnage in fixed income and equities and the disruptions to deal flow, any increase in the private bank’s AuM seems a victory.