Winners rationale

At the heart of Credit Suisse’s approach to intermediaries is the idea of empowerment, and a fundamental respect of the central role that regional IAMs play in the wealth management ecosystem. Credit Suisse has long recognised the immense potential of Asia’s developing intermediaries segment and, as such, spent resources aplenty in setting a foundation on which they can reliably depend.In 2019, the bank’s intermediaries desk enhanced its first-class platform further, upping its cadence to move ahead of regional competitors and capture a large part of IAMs’ share of mind and wallet.

One such leap that Credit Suisse made in 2019 was the introduction of an actively managed certificate offering, appropriately named ‘Quantum’. With AMCs experiencing a recent growth in popularity among Asian intermediaries for their flexibility and scalability, Credit Suisse developed Quantum as an end-to-end platform that handles all the needs of the structured product — all within a short turnaround time — so that IAMs can focus on interacting with their clients and delivering independent advice.

This added to the already considerable integrated banking capabilities that the bank has on offer for IAMs, which include: institutional-like servicing through the investment banking and prime brokerage arms; access to a regional financing division that provides bespoke lending solutions to IAMs’ entrepreneurial end-clients; and a research team that supplies actionable intelligence on over 50 markets globally.

To keep ahead of the pack, Credit Suisse partnered with leading tech provider Privé Technologies and engaged with local IAMs to develop a new set of groundbreaking digital tools to specifically soothe their pain points. Primarily, the collaboration saw IAMs gain access to convenient solutions that simplify compliance and operations, optimise client lifecycle management, and improve portfolio aggregation and reporting.

While the project is still in its infancy, the sweeping vision that Credit Suisse laid out — paired with its blue sky thinking and reputation as a leader in digital wealth management — encapsulates the bank’s progressive disposition and the pivotal role that it intends to keep playing as the region’s IAM story unfolds.

Further proof of Credit Suisse’s position as a vanguard lies in the outstanding business performance that it has attained in the past three years. Its IAM book in Asia has swelled annually by strong double-digits — from a solid base no less — while revenues have more than doubled over the same period.

Thanks to its masterful application of its integrated banking strategy, a fierce determination to galvanise growth of the intermediaries community through innovative services and digital amenities, and a team dedicated to the segment, Credit Suisse in 2019 clearly demonstrated why a growing number of independent organisations entrust their clients’ assets to the Swiss major.

Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services for 2019.