All articles by PBI Editorial
PBI Editorial
The US catches the bug
Charles Davis reports.The big US banks have caught on to the structured products boom and while these products remain but a fraction of their overall business, sales are expected to soar as the powerful brokerdealer firms jump on board.Last year, American investors purchased $64.3 billion in structured products, up 32 percent from $48.7 billion in 2005, and issuance is expected to hit $100 billion in the US this year, according to the Structured Products Association (SPA) in New York.
Challenging times for private banking
The escalating cost of onshore expansion, economic downturn and, most serious of all, the repercussions of the US subprime credit crisis will be major tests for players, large and small.The coming year will prove a challenging one for private banks, some of which are deeply embroiled in the US subprime crisis and which put their clients into loss-making collateralised debt obligations, according to Daniel Truchi, chief executive of SG Private Banking.At worst, some private banks that have taken major hits from the subprime debacle could see a flight to quality wave of defections among their clients, contends the French private banker, who has a reputation of advanced thinking on the industry
Mega-wealthy see their net worth slashed
Billionaire high net worth individuals worldwide are being destroyed at unprecedented rates by the collapse of financing markets and the plunging values of their business interests.US magazine Forbes, which compiles annual rich lists, has just recalculated its ranking for 400 of the wealthiest Americans and reports that 17 billionaires have lost more than $1 billion in the past month.As a result, business guru Warren Buffett is again the wealthiest American, replacing Microsofts Bill Gates
Pioneering private banking, the Oz way
For an affluent country with the worlds fourth-largest wealth management sector, Australia has a surprisingly undeveloped private banking industry But that hasnt stopped local and international banks from trying their luck in the Australian market, and attempting to use it as a base for operations in Asia.
BNP Paribas backs assault on Anglo-Dutch private banking
A new 10 billion ($15.56 billion) force in Anglo-Dutch wealth management is being created via a strategic partnership deal between BNP Paribas Private Bank and Dutch private bank and asset manager Insinger de Beaufort. Under the venture, BNP Paribas Private Bank will take a 35 percent stake in Insinger for 60 million and combine its London private banking activities with those of Insinger and Nachenius Tjeenk, the French groups Dutch private banking arm.
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Holding on to the family fortune
A variation of the sad aphorism from riches to rags in three generations is found in nearly every major civilization and serves as a reminder of the fall of many of the worlds wealthiest family dynasties.Two thousand years ago in China the proverb fu bu guo san dai, or wealth never survives three generations, was born
Vote for your private banking champions
Private Banker International has commenced gathering submissions and recommendations for its annual wealth awards.These accolades, which this year will be presented at the 18th PBI Wealth Summit in Singapore in November, have gained a reputation of being the most authoritative and reliable indicators of success in wealth management.They are based on submissions by PBIs worldwide readership, and then scrutinised by an independent judging panel in order to create the most objective and unbiased results (see The PBI Awards 2008).The PBI Awards will go to those companiesindividuals which are recognised by their peers and clients as demonstrating excellence under a range of criteria:Demonstrable professionalismIn-depth technical expertise and knowledge in their fieldFirst class client serviceMarket-leading financial productsservicesInnovative portfoliofinancial planning solutionsThe PBI awards have become a valuable wealth industry tool in identifying the type of best-in-class business models and innovations that are winning in the dynamic modern wealth industry.This year, the major awards include:The Outstanding Global Private Bank;The Outstanding Private Bank Asia-Pacific;The Outstanding Private Bank Europe;The Outstanding Private Bank The Americas;The Outstanding Private Bank Middle East;The Outstanding Wealth Manager Customer Relationship SkillsWe are also introducing a new category, namely:Most Exciting New Wealth Model Asia & Rest of WorldThe two awards in this section aim to identify the brightest and the best in the wealth business, finding the formula that really presses the envelope in terms of superior client servicing
UK raises £400m from tax amnesty
A total of £400 million has been paid by approximately 45,000 holders of offshore bank accounts, who met the deadline of 26 November, under the official offshore disclosure scheme, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).The largest payment under the amnesty was £3 million ($6.15 million); the average was £9,000 Some 64,000 people had registered a potential liability in July 2006.The sums raised fell well short of a target, thought to be around £1.75 billion, to raise tax revenues under the disclosure system, although HMRC has denied that it had released such an estimate
Private banking push from ICICI, ING Vysya Bank
The bank already has 1,500 customers in the $1 million net worth and above segment.Its expansion will be driven by the continued surge in the Indian stock market and rapid economic growth, according to ICICIs private banking head, Anup Bagchi As a result, the headcount is due to rise by 100 in the next six months from the present 350.However, ICICI admitted that, with foreign banks competing to win high net worth Indian clients, it is facing rising defections of its private bankers to its rivals, including chartered accountancy firms trying to build their own wealth management propositions
ABN AMRO wealth chief may run Fortis in Asia
A prospective merger of private banking capabilities between Belgiums Fortis and ABN AMRO will create a powerful new wealth force in Asia and the Middle East, with $30 billion in clients assets under management, according to ABN officials.Under the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) consortiums counter-bid to Barclays for ABN, consortium member Fortis will take over the Dutch groups international private banking and asset management operations If RBS succeeds, a combined ABN-Fortis private bank in Asia should be the sixth largest, the officials indicated.Barend Janssens, head of ABNs private bank in Asia, said if the merger goes ahead, the combined ABN-Fortis unit would have 50 percent more client assets more than the $20 billion that ABN private bank currently manages for its clients in Asia The highly regarded Janssens has just been voted by PBI readers as Asian Private Banker of the Year in PBIs 2007 Awards.Significantly, two senior executives have lately departed from Fortis in Singapore, making it likely that Janssens will head the combined unit, according to knowledgeable bankers in Singapore.Fortiss Henk de Glint has joined UBS as executive director in Singapore, where he will be key client manager for a number of countries, including Malaysia