Citi Focused on Middle East

Oct 10 - The head of Citigroup's private banking business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa says the global banking giant is very focused on growing its business in the region.

Samir Raslan, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Wednesday, said the Middle East has always been an exciting place to do business, but that it has finally come into its own "both in terms of maturity and the way the investors there are investing globally."
Speaker: Samir Raslan, Head of CEEMEA, Citi Global Wealth Management
Presenter: Joe Giannone
Search for Top Talent

Oct. 10 - The pool of talent is a significant issue facing many banks bolstering up wealth management divisions.

Lee Woolley speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit says he has noticed a trend in diminishing loyalty from bankers from other institutions, often interviewing entire groups to fill positions at his firm.

Woolley finds that as the larger firms try to expand to be all things to all people, they may find it more difficult to be nimble.

Diane King reports from Boston.

Speaker: Lee Woolley, President, Northern Trust of Massachusetts

Banks Lower Their Threshold

Oct. 9 - With $100 trillion dollars in assets, over forty per cent of the global wealth market finds its home in the U.S. There are some issues with how firms manage the sector.

According to Bruce Holley, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit many wealth managers lack focus by lowering their minimum threshold for investment.

Diane King reports.

FEATURED SPEAKER: Bruce Holley, Partner & Managing Director, The Boston Consulting Group

BBVA eyes LatAm Market

Grupo BBVA's head of private banking says 'most private banks are looking to Eastern Europe and Asia and very few are looking to Latin America. We have a very powerful name brand there.'

Daniel de Fernando, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva, says he sees "strong growth, good fundamentals and a good opportunity" for the bank to expand its private banking and asset management footprint in the region.

Speaker: Daniel de Fernando Head of Asset Management & Private Banking, Grupo BBVA

Presenter: Jane Barrett Geneva

JPMorgan to Boost West Coast Footprint

Oct. 10 - JPMorgan Private Bank says that new hiring of its U.S. bankers will rise at roughly 10% annually over the next few years.

The private banking group has already ramped up the amount of current advisers to 370 partly to increase its footprint in the West Coast. Catherine Keating speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit says they plan to buoy their presence in both the West Coast and the Southeast.

Diane King reports from New York.

FEATURED SPEAKER: Catherine Keating, Chief Executive Officer, US Private Bank, JPMorgan Private Bank

ING Eyes Deals

Oct 10 - ING's Deputy Global CEO says "client acquisition is on target

ING, one of Europe's top banking and insurance groups says, "the premium that has to be paid for acquiring a bank is too high and so we are not playing that game at the moment but we are looking and if there is an opportunity we will take it."

Bernard Coucke, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Wednesday says, ING's private banking group is "growing faster than the market".

Speaker: Bernard Coucke Deputy Global CEO, ING Private Banking

Presenter: Reed Stevenson, Geneva

Sarasin Targets More NRI Business

Oct. 9 - Robust wealth creation in Asia has meant significant growth opportunities for Sarasin Rabo Investment Management.

Kenneth Sit, Sarasin Rabo Investment Management CEO, speaking at Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday, says the group also plans to target and further expand its NRI (Non-Resident Indian) business in order to capitalise on the growing numbers of high net-worth Indians living overseas.

Featured speaker:

Kenneth Sit, CEO, Sarasin Rabo Investment Management

Presenter: Nina Mehra, Hong Kong

Banks Turn to Psychologists

Oct. 9 - Emotional factors often get in the way of investment and investment management so wealth managers are looking for new ways to aid their clients.

In turn a rising solution to this problem is the employment of psychologists who specialize in wealth issues.

Psychologist Jim Grubman, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit says that some of the common issues he faces are guilt, anxiety, and teaching children how to deal with their family's wealth.

Diane King reports.

Speaker: James Grubman, Psychologist & Consultant

Moving Toward Transparency

Oct. 9 - The super-rich, who have long favoured Switzerland for its confidential banking laws, can no longer expect the same situation when it comes to undeclared funds.

Stephanie Jarrett, partner at the law firm Baker & McKenzie, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Tuesday, says the increase in banking regulation opens doors for private bankers who need to be thinking about how they can profit from that opportunity.

Featured Speaker: Stephanie Jarrett, Partner, Baker & McKenzie

Presenter: Douwe Miedema, Geneva

Morgan Stanley Starts India Wealth Arm

Oct. 8 - Morgan Stanley plans to launch private wealth management services in India next year.

It will be the first onshore wealth business in Asia, and expects to hire around 100 private bankers, Leslie Menkes, managing director Asia, Morgan Stanley private wealth management, said at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Singapore on Monday. The bank expected it would be managing around $1 billion in private banking assets in India at the end of three years.

Featured Speaker: Leslie Menkes, managing director Asia, Morgan Stanley private wealth management

U.S. Investors Underweight Globally

Oct. 8 - Wells Fargo wealth management group expects the dollar to weaken against major currencies for the next few years.

Still the group is growing at an estimated 20-25% a year minus acquisitions. Dean Junkans speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit says that US investors are underweight globally, and not just in equities.Diane King reports.

SOUNDBITE: Dean Junkans, Chief Investment Officer, Well Fargo Wealth Management Group

Market 'Fragmented'

Oct. 8 - The head of Bank of Ireland's private banking unit says he sees opportunities for growth in the wealth management arena because the sector "tends to be very fragmented."

Mark Cunningham, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Monday, says "we believe there is lots of opportunity" to expand Bank of Ireland's presence in the United Kingdom and further abroad.

Speaker: Mark Cunningham, Managing Director, Bank of Ireland Private Banking

Presenter: Paul Hoskins, Geneva

BNP Paribas Grows Asia Private Bank

Oct. 8 - BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank, is building up its onshore private banking presence in China, India and Taiwan.

The company expects total assets under management in Asia to grow by 20 percent a year in the next few years. Michel Longhini, Chief Executive Officer - Asia of BNP Paribas Private Bank, told Reuters that the bank now has 30 staff in its onshore private banking operation in Shanghai and plans to double that to 60 by next year. Longhini made the comments at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Singapore on Monday.

Featured Speaker: Michel Longhini, Asia-Pacific head, BNP Paribas private bank.

Julius Baer Sets Targets For Asia Bank

Oct. 8 - Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer, which set up its Asian operations just a year ago, expects the region to account for 10-20 percent of its global business in three to five years.

The growth in Asia's private banking business has been "north of 30 percent," Wilfried Kofmehl, Julius Baer's chief executive of private banking for Southeast Asia, said at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Singapore on Monday.

Featured Speaker: Wilfried Kofmehl, CEO private banking Southeast Asia Julius Baer

Creating 'Acceleration'

Oct. 8 - The head of Standard Chartered's Private Banking unit speaks to Reuters on the bank's recent acquisition of American Express bank.

Peter Flavel, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Monday, hopes the acquisition creates "considerable acceleration" for plans to combine the two businesses and nearly double its private banking footprint. Flavel said the acquisition "significantly advances our plans for private banking by about 3 years."

Featured Speaker: Peter Flavel, Global Head of Private Banking, Standard Chartered

Presenter: Steve Slater, Geneva

Credit Suisse Doubles Asia Private Bank

Oct. 8 - The private banking arm of Credit Suisse plans to double its revenue and staff in Asia in two years, and aims to launch a private banking operation in Japan late next year.

Marcel Kreis, who joined Credit Suisse from UBS in February, said that the bank plans to launch its private banking business in Japan late next year and is looking for a chief executive, relationship managers and product specialists. Kreis made the comments at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Singapore on Monday.

Featured Speaker: Marcel Kreis, head of private banking Asia-Pacific, Credit Suisse.

Talent Search in Unlikely Place

Oct. 8 - Swiss private bank Julius Baer says the tight labor pool has led it to start recruiting new employees from "hotel schools."

Boris Collardi, COO of Private Banking, says many of the students who study hospitality are "highly talented" and have the "language and social skills while at the same time being quite fluent with finance."

Collardi made the comments at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Monday 8th October.

Featured speaker: Boris Collardi, COO Private Bank, Julius Baer

Presenter: Andrew Hurst, Geneva

In The Giving Mood

Oct. 8 - UBS says it has seen an increase in the number of families and individuals looking to set up charitable foundations in South Asia and South America.

UBS puts this down to the fact that "more and more families want to give back."

Dr. Maximilian Martin, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management Summit in Geneva on Monday, says it's is "extremely important" for private bankers to offer philanthropy services for clients.

Featured Speaker: Dr. Maximilian Martin, Global Head of Philanthropy Services, UBS

Presenter:Jane Barrett, Geneva

Where Dresdner Bank Sees Growth

Oct. 4 - The head of Private Wealth Management at Dresdner Bank speaks to ReutersTV at the Wealth Management Summit in Geneva.

Matt Cowan reports for Reuters.

FEATURED SPEAKERS: Anton Simonet, Dresdner Bank Head of Private Wealth Management

Matt Cowan, Reuters Correspondent

The Enduring Allure of Switzerland

Oct. 3 - BNP Paribas Switzerland private banking head Patrick du Saint speaks to Reuters TV at Wealth Management Summit in Geneva.

Private banking counts for around 5 percent of BNP Paribas' total group net profit and du Saint said this contribution was likely to increase. BNP Paribas' private banking arm has around 135 billion euros ($171.5 billion) worth of client assets. According to figures from Euromoney, it is the market leader for private banking in France, number three in western Europe and number seven in Asia and Latin America. Matt Cowan reports.

FEATURED SPEAKERS: Matt Cowan, Reuters Correspondent
Patrick du Saint, BNP Paribas Switzerland private banking head

Selling Services Via 'Storytelling'

Oct. 4 - The head of Europe for ING Private Banking discusses the key to building client relationships in the competitive and complex sector.

Bernard Coucke spoke to Reuters TV at the Wealth Management Summit in Geneva.

FEATURED SPEAKERS: Matt Cowan, Reuters Correspondent
Bernard Coucke, ING Private Banking head of Europe

Building Wealth Through Management

Oct. 3 - Arthur Vayloyan of Credit Suisse speaks to Reuters TV at the wealth managment summit in Geneva.

Matt Cowan reports

FEATURED SPEAKERS: Arthur Vayloyan, Head of Private Banking Investment Services and Products at Credit Suisse.