ANZ is one of several private banks to pull out of Asia. Now an Australian competitor is also reviewing its wealth management operations in the Australasian region.
Private banks are leaving Asia in droves: Societe Generale and Melbourne-based ANZ sold to domestic bank DBS, Barclays Wealth to Bank of Singapore, Coutts to Union Bancaire Privee, ABN Amro to LGT, and Royal Bank of Canada is also reportedly on the block.
Now, ANZ's hometown rival National Australia Bank has ordered a review to its private banking operations, «Australian Financial Review» reported late on Wednesday, without citing sources.
Ultra-Rich Shift
The bank, led by Andrew Thorburn, is letting go almost 20 private bankers as it focuses onto high and ultra-high net worth clients, which is generally defined as those with more than $1 million and more than $30 million in assets, respectively.
Set against that will be 27 new roles created by the bank, which the laid off bankers can apply for. Thus is it unclear what the net effect of redundancies at NAB in Asia will be following the revamp.
NAB's shift is an attempt to weed out clients which don't really pay off for the bank, a theme which is echoing throughout the industry as costs such as for regulatory matters skyrocket.
