2016 acquisitions boost Asia’s profile banks to record highs
(12 April 2017 – Asia) Following a raft of acquisitions in the last year, Asia’s largest private banks increased their assets under management (AUM) to a record high.
An Asian Private Banker report released this week shows that assets managed by the region’s top 20 private banks rose by 6.1 percent to US$1.55 trillion (A$2.04 trillion) in 2016 from the year prior.
A significant boost to the latest figures were key acquisitions, including Bank of Singapore’s purchase of Barclays Plc’s wealth-management units in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Bank of Singapore’s AUM jumped 44 percent, to $US79 billion after the Barclays deal according to the publication. Ranked seven, it joins sixth-placed DBS Group as the only Asia-based banks in the top 10.
UBS Group AG retained the top rank with US$286.4 billion in assets, while Citigroup followed with $218 billion of holdings.
The results come as East & Partners Asia’s ‘Asia Wealth Management Index’ highlights the growth in the use of the private banks and financial advisers by Asia’s High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs). Use of private banks among this group has quadrupled between 2013 and 2017, while previously most popular, self-managed funds have dropped by around a third over the same time.
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