FNB wins the award for Africa's best private bank for ultra-high net-worth this year. The pan-African lender’s distinctive offering for the super wealthy demonstrates its ability to serve these clients.

Next-gen clients can be just as diverse as any other private-banking clients, with similar ranges of age, investment goals and overall desire to be involved in the family wealth.

FNB has put succession planning at the heart of its private wealth proposition, taking the view that all clients should have access to the service, regardless of income or balance-sheet value. It considers the needs not only of the existing client but also the aspirations of the next generation.

Last year was marked by innovation and implementation for 2024’s winner of the award for Africa's best bank for philanthropic advisory: FNB.

As Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank Wealth and Investment is well-placed to take advantage of the growth of the continent as a private-banking market. The firm is led by Jacques Els.

In an African context in which private family wealth is growing rapidly, Standard Bank Wealth and Investment regards itself as one of the few large regional institutions with a comprehensive family-office service. It sees itself as a pioneer in this area, and wants to maintain a preeminent position in the category as the importance of African family offices continues to grow.

At a group level, BNP Paribas Wealth Management is a perpetual leader in the ever-growing field of sustainability. In 2023, Euromoney called the Paris-based lender the world’s best bank for sustainable finance for the third year in a row. We cited its status as the poster child for providing sustainable banking at scale, and its big and bold shift away from fossil fuels.

JPMorgan Private Bank says that it has “always been intentional about engaging future generations”. People are transitory and money can be too, but it doesn’t have to be. Any family knows wealth can be lost as easily as it can be won, and consistently falling on the right side of that equation means engaging the next generation, and the one after that.

Liechtenstein-based LGT Private Banking is a standout leader in family-office services for good reason. Anyone wealthy enough to have their own family office is looking for a blend of attributes from their main provider: ideas and innovation on the one hand; safety and stability on the other.

JPMorgan Private Bank clients enjoy the best of both worlds: an intimate relationship with a US lender that is allied to the power of a genuinely global financial leader. It is led by Mary Callahan Erdoes.

Amid the constant hum of activity in the private-banking world, it can be easy to forget the importance of discretionary portfolio management.

Goldman Sachs has been helping clients manage the tricky process of safely and seamlessly moving money from one generation to the next for, well, generations.

“Philanthropy is in our DNA.” So says JPMorgan Private Bank, which for more than 160 years has served as a philanthropy adviser and investment manager to many of the world’s leading charitable institutions and philanthropists.

Goldman Sachs has a 22-year track record of outperformance in creating, analysing and constantly reassessing wealth management portfolios. Key to this is its internal Investment Strategy Group’s (ISG) proprietary strategic asset-allocation data crunching, and the way its wealth advisers engage with the ISG team to provide tailored investment recommendations to ultra-high net-worth individuals, family offices and institutional investors.

In 2023, Singapore attracted S$12.7 billion ($9.43 billion) in fixed asset investments, amid a challenging global environment, according to data from the country’s economic development board. The previous year it was even higher, at S$22.5 billion.

Competition in the high net-worth category is fierce: every private bank targets HNW customers, with the aim of making as many as possible of them long-term customers.

“We take pride in being a trusted partner, not only in exclusive investment and financing solutions, but also in environmental, social and governance opportunities, legacy and estate planning, wealth planning, and philanthropy,” Deutsche Bank Private Bank declared in its pitch document for this award.

Citi’s chief investment office is at the heart of Citi Private Bank. And at the heart of that is David Bailin, the US bank’s chief investment officer.

Deutsche Bank Private Bank takes this award for the second year in a row. The German lender was founded more than 150 years ago with the express aim of supporting entrepreneurs in its home market and, later, beyond.

India is a key market for Julius Baer. Onshore, it is the largest foreign private bank, with a history stretching back more than 30 years, catering to high and ultra-high net-worth customers.

Deutsche Bank Private Bank is far from the only global wealth manager to have transformed its business model and its fortunes in recent years.

Traditionally, the route to acquiring new clients was achieved via the expansion of an adviser’s personal network. This was cultivated by doing the rounds, attending events and conferences, and through referrals. Business was steadily attained, then systematically, over years and even generations, retained.

Reports that the long-rumoured deal has been agreed suggest growing optimism among Argentine bankers about the new administration.

The German lender’s decision to put its chips on southeast Asia is paying off handsomely. Under the leadership of Asia CEO Alexander von zur Mühlen, Deutsche Bank has doubled its capital in Vietnam and Indonesia, with more to come, moved a host of global roles to the region, and has seen Asean eclipse its India and China business in terms of growth and absolute numbers.

Asset managers and industry regulators face operational challenges around the tokenization of private assets.

Caution at local commercial banks – coupled with the eagerness of large investment banks to foster relationships with private equity players – means large real-estate deals fuelled by back leverage could be primed for a comeback in Europe.

For a deeply unpopular government with little room to manoeuvre, the chance to bribe voters with a cheap offer of bank shares is irresistible. The bank in question is now well-run and profitable while its stock still trades at a discount. But the great NatWest share offer will do little to revive UK capital markets.

Luring star bankers from rivals – like Citi’s appointment of JPMorgan veteran Viswas Raghavan – can bring hidden costs beyond the expense of replacing stock options for the lucky new hire.

The UBS chief investment office’s sustainable and impact investing strategist wants to avoid measurement for the sake of measurement, but responding to client demand for more data while ensuring its readability remains a challenge.

The leading neobanks in Brazil seem to have hit their stride in terms of profitability just as some of the traditional banks have stumbled. Are these firms the future of Brazilian banking?