«We have become more accountable, and therefore looking at the risks not only from the upside,» UBS' Asia-Pacific head Kathryn Shih said is her lesson from the financial crisis ten years ago.
She is the grand dame of wealth management in Asia: Kathryn, or «Kathy», Shih, President of UBS Asia Pacific for the past two years, a bank she joined more than 30 years ago – in 1987.
At that time, wealth management in the region was hardly more than «investing money and walking the dogs of the clients», she said last week at the «stars» Foundation Symposium in Singapore. finews.asia attended as a media partner the four-day event.
Aiming For 500 Billion Francs
Today, UBS employs 9,000 staff in Asia and is the leading wealth manager in the region, with 380 billions Swiss francs under management. After an increase of almost 100 billion francs in the last twelve months, the bank is now aiming to reach the 500 billion franc mark within the next year to 18 months, as August Hatecke, UBS' wealth management head in Southeast Asia said at a Chinese New Year’s celebration in Singapore last week.
UBS' growth prospects haven't always been rosy: exactly ten years ago, Switzerland's largest bank faced its biggest crisis after more than $50 billion in losses on subprime mortgages in the U.S., which eventually forced a taxpayer-backed rescue – the only one of a financial institution in Switzerland.
Near-Death Experience
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