Asian private banks are following their Western peers and championing the arts through sponsorship.

As the latest sign that Asia-based wealth managers are turning from traditional sports sponsorship and beginning to champion the arts, Societe Generale Private Banking last week sponsored an Indian classical music concert in Singapore.

For an undisclosed sum, the French private
bank supported two famous Indian classical musicians, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia.

The president of Singapore, SR Nathan, was present at the performance at the Esplanade in Singapore on Sunday.

“Societe Generale Private Banking always
aspires to craft a balance between business and culture, bringing support to
the society in which the bank operates. We have been playing an active role in
promoting music in Asia”, said the bank in a statement.

Societe Generale is no stranger to arts
sponsorship in the region, and has been a partner of the Hong Kong Philharmonic
Orchestra for the last six years.

Recently other private banks in the region have been moving into the space. Sponsorships of glitzy events can be a useful tool for marketing, luring new clients and cementing loyalty with existing ones. 

German rival Deutsche Bank last year
committed to a five-year sponsorship of contemporary art festival, the Hong Kong
Art Fair. Meanwhile Zurich-headquartered Julius Baer in March was the principal
sponsor of the Sovereign Asian Art Award and Gala dinner and auction.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch last month
announced an art conservation project to restore Asia Pacific cultural
treasures. The same initiative was piloted in Europe, the Middle East and
Africa last year, and saw works from 10 countries receiving funding for
conservation.

But relative to the West, where arts patronage dates back to the wealthy Medici family, partnerships between businesses and the arts are still a new concept in Asia. Many wealth managers like Barclays Wealth, UBS and HSBC Private Bank are hooking clients in other ways, through sports like golf, racing and sailing. A source at one private bank said that the difference in focus could be down to culture. "Sporting prowess is important in Asia and the more visible the sport, the better. Sport brings with it a lot of glamour, wealth and celebrities, whereas theatre and art demand more discreet socialising," she said. 

Naturally it is impossible to generalise. UBS last week confirmed it had ended a six-year partnership with the Hong Kong Open, one of the most high profile golf tournaments on Asian soil, due to "a strategic shift in its sponsorship strategy." This year's tournament, held at the beginning of December, will be the last sponsored by the Swiss bank.

However the bank last year signed up as the global lead sponsor of Formula 1 and has sponsored the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union since 1996. 

In the UK many large
private banks sponsor arts causes in one form or other, including Coutts & Co, HSBC Private Bank,
Barclays Wealth, Deutsche Bank, EFG International, Northern Trust, JP Morgan
Private Bank, Citi Private Bank, Bofa Merrill Lynch and Pictet. These range from
theatre, to fine art, to photography.

However, the recession has forced a reduction in arts
sponsorship from Western corporates.

Although there are no global figures, according
to a report published by Arts & Business, a London-based consultancy
earlier this year, UK business investment in the arts fell 11 per cent to
£144.1 million during 2009 and 2010.

Colin Tweedy, chief executive of Arts &
Business, said in the report: “Although businesses are still committed to
working with the arts, they are not hard wired to do so. Corporate money is a
discretionary spend, particularly in hard times. As a result, business
investment in 2009/2010 was lower than in 2003/2004.”