Economics
Asia Private-Bank Assets Fall for First Time Since at Least 2013
- Clients' wealth under management declined 4.2% last year
- Asian Private Banker report cites slowing growth, regulation
Safe deposit box vault in bank
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Asia’s top private banks posted their first drop in assets under management and number of relationship managers in at least three years as the region’s economic growth slowed and mounting regulatory pressure forced them to reject some clients.
Total assets at the 20 biggest banks in Asia fell 4.2 percent to $1.47 trillion last year, as the number of relationship managers slipped 1.2 percent to 5,191, according to an Asian Private Banker report released Wednesday. The declines were the first since the Hong Kong-based publisher began compiling the data in 2012. It cited stringent U.S. tax compliance law, which made some banks turn away clients with links to that country.