The US wealth market remains attractive for Swiss private banks as the number of wealthy clients outweighs any other problems, Vontobel CEO Zeno Staub told reporters at a briefing in London.
"The US is simply too big, too wealthy and too important," said Staub said.
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In addition to the massive US wealth pool, clients there were used to holding wealth in financial assets and pay decent rates for advice, and they want to diversify assets internationally, Zurich-based bank’s CEO added.
Commenting on the fact that many private banks are targeting emerging markets as wealth grows fast in those regions, Staub said many of the ventures into emerging markets "will end in tears" as margins there are less attractive than in the US.
He also predicted that nearly one third of Swiss private banks will disappear a US initiative to reveal undeclared accounts in Switzerland will speed up.
"I would expect it accelerates the process," Staub said, referring to an August 29 US Department of Justice Program for Swiss financial firms to volunteer information and pay fines to avoid prosecution.
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By GlobalDataOn August 30, a joint report by KPMG and the University of St Gallen said that more than a quarter of Swiss private will cease to exist within next three years.
