Winners rationale

UBS’s well-established foothold in the Taiwan international segment was further reinforced in 2018, thanks in large part to the team dedicated to innovating the business. In a year marred by volatility and for a market that has experienced suboptimal GDP growth, UBS’s Taiwan international unit managed to expand sustainably across the board by enhancing collaboration with other parts of the bank, broadening client coverage, and diversifying revenue streams.

For the year under consideration, the bank placed a particular focus on the existing client base of its Taiwan business. Adopting a team-based approach, Taiwan international advisors leveraged the group’s myriad capabilities to identify and meet clients’ various financing, investment, and wealth management needs. As a result of these collaborations, a very significant share of UBS’s net new assets (NNA) in 2018 were sourced from existing clients — a major indicator of trust and satisfaction.

Outside of existing clients, UBS further diversified sources of new money by tapping into two high potential markets: cash-rich corporations and non-resident Taiwanese. For the former, it leveraged its network with business and trade associations to systematically target Taiwanese corporates, and for the latter, a virtual China team was set up to capture the vast pool of Taiwanese sitting in core Chinese cities. The results thus far have been phenomenal, with NNA coming from China-domiciled clients representing the largest share of Taiwan NNA overall.

The growth of client assets aside, the Taiwan business continues to demonstrate a commitment to building a legacy of sustainability that can withstand market cycles. Within a private bank that has a strict regional mandate to expand its recurring income base, the Taiwan team remains a leader in advisory and discretionary mandate penetration, posting rates that would be the envy of any country team within the bank, not to mention any bank in the industry.

And in a region that conventionally builds front office lineups by bidding for top talent, UBS’s Taiwan business bucks the trend by consistently focusing on building a robust pipeline through developing young internal talent. Its learning and development programmes have resulted in the rise of many rainmakers — and considerable growth in net revenue — since.

Though it is already an established market leader in capability and size for the Taiwan international market, UBS refused to rest on its laurels, continuing to recalibrate strategically and grow sustainably.

UBS is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Taiwan International for 2018.