| Also shortlisted in this category: |
UBS Wealth Management
Having a global presence in private banking is not easy. The top players, such as HSBC, Citi, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, SG and ABN Amro can all be commended for their expertise in wealth management, and all dominate their own turf and excel in the majority of regions worldwide. However, only UBS Wealth Management can lay claim to appearing among the top five players in practically every country. In Euromoney’s January 2007 private banking poll, UBS Wealth Management ranked first globally, first in western Europe, first in Asia, third in north America and second in Latin America. In its European business, following a series of acquisitions over the past four years, the firm broke even in all markets last year. The number of European domestic branches, now 45, has more than tripled since 2001. UBS now has 870 client advisers in the business, up from 370 then. Invested assets have risen to Sfr144 billion ($116 billion) from Sfr16 billion, with a significant part of the increase coming from the Sfr72 billion in net new money UBS has taken in since the end of 2001.