Wednesday’s Headlines: Something Else for American Bankers to Worry About—Wealthy in Asia Snub Money Managers

Could this ever happen here? Millionaires in Asia are turning away bankers, preferring to manage their own wealth, according to Bloomberg, which reports that managers at banks including Credit Suisse and Citi have full discretion over clients’ portfolios for just 4 percent of assets under management, down from 7 percent in 2006. HSBC’s private bank earned $2.10 for every $100 of assets it managed in the Asia-Pacific region last year, down 25 percent from 2007.

Said a Boston Consulting managing director: “Asia’s wealthy lost a lot of trust in their private banks and private bankers during the 2008 financial crisis.”

Added a Citi private banker in the region: “The culture of Asia is such that clients are far more hands-on. Many of them have made a lot of money in the real estate markets in Asia, and these are hands-on markets. Nobody can tell you—you need a feel for it.” Others note that the Asian wealthy have made—rather than inherited—their wealth, and expect high returns. The clients that do stick with their banks negotiate lower fees.

In Europe, private wealth management grew to 23 percent, up from 18 percent six years ago.

 

Other News:

Standard Charter’s Q2 profit rose 12 percent on Asia and emerging markets. [WSJ]

France’s Société Générale Q2 profit fell 42 percent on the economy. [DealBook]

Ally Financial swung to a Q2 loss on a mortgage loss. [WSJ]

AIG will buy Woodbury, a broker-dealer business from Hartford. [Dow Jones]

Dun & Bradstreet is considering selling itself. [NY Times]

Forstmann Little, the private equity firm that owns 24 Hour Fitness, hired Goldman Sachs to run an auction that is expected to fetch about $2 billion. [DealBook]

Canadian consortium Maple Group won the battle for the $3.7 billion buyout of the Toronto Exchange. [NY Times]

Silver Lake is seeking a $7.5 billion for a new fund. [Bloomberg]

World Financial Center has vacancies after Nomura, Deloitte and BofA defected to Midtown. [NY Times]