UBS plans to double the value of invested assets of Asian clients in the next five years, even as the Swiss financial services firm sheds 10,000 staff and restructures its investment banking business globally.
Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of the firm, said that the restructuring plans will not affect its expansion plans in Asia because economic growth in the region would outpace that of the United States and Europe.
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As a part of the move, UBS aims to increase its assets under management in Asia to 25 to 30% of its global assets under management from 14.3%.
UBS said the Asia-Pacific region will replace Europe, which contributes 20.9% of the group’s total invested assets, while US contributes 43.4% of total invested assets.
Last year, UBS said it would shut down its fixed-income and other non-core businesses and reduce staff by 10,000 to 54,000 by 2015.
UBS would be pulling out of some capital-intensive businesses in fixed income, commodities and currencies; reducing risk-weighted assets in the investment bank by more than half; and focusing on equities, advisory and servicing the bank’s wealth management clients.
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By GlobalDataErmotti said he would sharpen the group’s concentration on wealth management in growth markets and added that Asian markets would post stronger economic growth and generate more wealth than the US or Europe.
Ermotti added: "The reforms are aimed primarily at improving cost efficiency and productivity and in the long term will boost profits. We expect to see growth in every region of our business but expect it to be fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in China, Japan and Southeast Asia."
