Total assets under management at Asia’s top private banks returned to growth in 2023 after dipping for two consecutive years. finews.asia releases its annual Private Banking AUM League Table in a year that saw major events like the post-pandemic reopening and the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse.
The total assets under management (AUM) at Asia’s top 10 largest private banks grew 21.3 percent to nearly $1.8 trillion in 2023, according to finews.asia’s 2023 Private Banking AUM League Table. Following two consecutive years of contraction (-11.7 percent in 2022 and -1.6 percent in 2021), the industry has returned to growth.
This was driven in no small part by an early 2023 reopening and the end of Covid-related restrictions in various key markets including mainland China as well as financial hubs Hong Kong and Singapore. Markets also performed relatively better compared to a 2022 that saw the rare phenomenon in the simultaneous downturn of stocks and bonds, hitting traditional 60/40 portfolios.
UBS Widens the Gap
As expected, UBS Global Wealth Management was the largest private bank in Asia after it widened the gap further with the government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse. The enlarged Swiss wealth giant added a whopping $208 billion in AUM to reach $645 billion.
This is equivalent to 16.8 percent of UBS’s global AUM and the region is set to account for an even larger share. According to group CEO Sergio Ermotti, the bank plans for Asia to make up around 20 percent of total AUM in five or six years.
HSBC’s Asia Pivot
The second-largest AUM increase was recorded by HSBC Global Private Banking. The British private bank grew its Asia AUM by $35 billion to $209 billion in 2023.
This resulted in Asia accounting for 46.8 percent of global AUM, up from 45.4 percent in 2022. In fact, Asia was the primary contributor of inflows for HSBC’s entire wealth and personal banking unit, which covers the full range of client segments from mass affluent to ultra-high net worth individuals, with more than $47 billion sourced from the region.
J.P. Morgan: End of an Era
2023 marked the end of an era for J.P. Morgan Private Bank after Kam Shing Kwan served her final year as the Asia CEO. And she ended her 7-year run with a bang by recording the third-largest AUM increase ($30.1 billion to $166 billion) and climbing one rank to become Asia’s third-largest private bank.
After passing the torch to 30-year veteran Harshika Patel, Kwang is now serving as J.P. Morgan's North Asia chair, tasked with advising on the bank’s strategic agenda and strengthening key relationships in the region.
Lower Regional Share
Interestingly, Asia’s total share of global AUM fell from 14.9 percent in 2022 to 13.8 percent in 2023. This trend applied to half of the top 10 private banks, including all three US players alongside Julius Baer and BNP Paribas Wealth Management.
See finews.asia’s 2023 Private Banking AUM League Table below.
(click on the table to enlarge)
