Move adds offshore platform for private clients; bank argues BAC Florida Bank deal adds to its story as the momentum play in the market.

Ten years on from the crisis, Morgan Stanley was already a different animal, with a shift to half its revenues generated from wealth management – what will it look like in another 10 years? Maybe more like Bank of America or JPMorgan…

After so long, private bank clients and even retail investors are no longer happy with the returns from government bonds; instead, they are searching for yield and pushing up the value of risk assets.

Euromoney’s coverage of private banking since our launch in 1969 reflects the changes in the industry itself. The first 30 years were dominated by Swiss banks – and trying to get into their inner sanctums. The last two decades have seen the evolution of wealth management into a truly global business, new professionalisation and increasing competition.

Euromoney Magazine has charted the birth, growth and maturity of the global private banking industry over 50 years. This special report is the distilled essence of five decades of innovation and change. We look at how private banking has evolved, and what the future holds for an industry that has never experienced such an explosion of opportunity, in particular in Asia, but has also never faced such fierce competition. See inside for in-depth analysis of the major issues facing the world’s private banks today, and how they can overcome them, from some of the leading lights of the industry. The report also contains the results of our 2019 Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey.

The face of wealth management in India is changing, as vast fortunes are made by young digital disruptors and as private banks venture out of the main commercial hubs in search of untapped profit and potential in second-tier cities.

A lower-profile announcement caught Euromoney’s eye after the bluster of the G20 meetings in Buenos Aires.

Asia offers a unique client set of young entrepreneurs; it also offers the challenge of new generations inheriting wealth with different expectations from their predecessors. That is a great opportunity, but it requires private banks to be nimble, thoughtful and technologically adept.

Meeting the needs of high net-worth families is more challenging and fascinating than ever. Private banks are investing in new forms of digital communication, catering to clients’ philanthropic demands, boosting fee transparency and finding ways to attract and retain the best young talent.

The Swiss bank stands apart from its peers. It helped its clients profit, both in the serene waters of 2019 and in the wake left by Covid-19 as it spread across the world in 2020

“I think this crisis has shown why being with a firm focused on wealth management as a primary business and having a global perspective matters to clients,” says Tom Naratil, co-chief executive of UBS global wealth management (GWM) and president of UBS Americas.

Our review period was a difficult one for private banking operations in the region, as it was worldwide: the fourth quarter wiped out huge chunks of revenues and assets for some international and local players, and it was a year that required sound individual advice for clients.

For the second year running Credit Suisse is Latin America’s best bank for wealth management, this year bolstered by the completion of a three-year turnaround across the whole bank.

Household net financial wealth in CEE has roughly doubled since 2006 and private banking and wealth management services are increasingly in demand across the region.

With a new strategy of regionalization, integration and innovation, Credit Suisse’s wealth management business has set itself apart from its peers and brought the ethos of Swiss personalized service to an international platform.