UBS is well-positioned to leverage its scale and OneBank offering to cement its foothold in the Asia-Pacific region
The world is getting progressively richer across all wealth segments, with an estimated $83tn in wealth set to be passed on in the next 20-25 years, according to the Global Wealth Report 2024 by Swiss bank UBS. Today, three of five billionaires in the region are banking with UBS.
Amid this significant transfer of capital and market growth, UBS has emerged as a leading player by capturing the key trends of global wealth creation and by expanding client relationships.
The bank has also strategically positioned its Apac wealth management arm to capture this opportunity by leveraging its expanded footprint and OneBank capabilities to build client trust and drive profitability. The OneBank approach caters to the complex needs of entrepreneurs, family offices and corporate clients that go beyond wealth management.
Achievements
UBS’s wealth management arm in the Apac region has demonstrated impressive growth in recent years, especially in 2023 and 2024. The region accounts for a significant portion of the bank’s global wealth management (GWM) assets, totalling $627bn out of the more than $4tn the bank manages globally.
The second quarter of 2024 was particularly notable as the Apac region contributed $8.2bn of UBS’s $26.9bn of global net new assets (NNA), making it the fastest-growing region in terms of NNA over the past 12 months. In 2023, one of UBS’s standout achievements was the smooth integration with Swiss bank Credit Suisse, a merger that boosted UBS’s business and coverage in the Apac region. The combined entity now boasts an even more diversified footprint across key markets including Australia and India.
Coupled with its global coverage and capabilities, UBS is in a unique position to present clients with an enhanced global offering, broader geographical reach and scale, and access to greater expertise.
A key example is the bank’s Global Family and Institutional Wealth (GFIW) unit, which adopts the OneBank approach. This year, UBS has also consolidated its client solutions into a single construct – GWM Solutions – bringing together teams from GFIW, Global Investment Management, Unified Global Markets and the Global Lending Unit. This streamlined approach has allowed the bank to deliver services to customers more holistically and efficiently.
Impact and results
The results of UBS’s efforts in the Apac region have been profound and the trust and confidence that clients place in the bank has been reflected in its financial performance. UBS continues to maintain its financial strength and stability, while profitability has significantly improved, with GWM Apac’s profit before tax reaching $315m in the first quarter of 2024 and $310m in the second quarter.
On the integration front, the bank has geared up to start migrating Credit Suisse Wealth Management clients to the UBS infrastructure this year, starting with the Apac region. This will pave the way for UBS to deliver the full strength of its combined organisation to clients.
Conclusion
UBS’s global scale and expanded connectivity as well as its OneBank offering have enabled it to drive profitability while strengthening client relationships across the region.
As the bank continues to increase collaboration within the organisation and reap the synergies of its combined franchise, it is well-positioned to extend its growth and lead in the Apac region in the years to come.