Winners rationale

In terms of banking HNW individuals, South Asia could well be the most heterogeneous yet untapped region in Asia, and few have been able to crack the code with more finesse than Credit Suisse. The Swiss private bank in 2019 continued to grow from strength to strength and demonstrated that it did not merely capture a sizeable portion of the region’s economic growth but also positioned itself as the go-to bank for wealthy entrepreneurs and budding family businesses.

The private bank’s business growth — which has been at a double-digit range for the past half-decade — can be successfully attributed to robust net new asset inflows and a healthy pre-tax income, notable hallmarks of a profitable firm. Onshore India and Thailand, for example, returned significant AUM growth year-on-year respectively, whilst offshore markets such as Indonesia also grew strongly.

Building on its brand as the ‘Bank for Entrepreneurs’ in Asia Pacific, the Swiss firm took bolder strides in 2019 by enhancing its onshore presence to capture clients in harder-to-reach tier 2 and tier 3 cities. As Credit Suisse clients, HNWIs were given access to investment counsellors, bespoke mandates, and even hedge fund advisory.

The bank was well-invested in its onshore partnerships, investing resources and headcount into each South Asia country in 2019. In Indonesia, the bank built up asset management companies and IDR funds. In the Philippines, the bank doubled the staff in its representative office and its fixed income and DPM products gained traction — favourites of the local HNW clients. In Malaysia, HNW clients could rest their qualms with a broad shelf of Sharia-compliant solutions and disciplined advisory processes to shape up their investment strategy and structure their asset allocation. And in Thailand, a growing number of investment consultants were able to provide clients with more sophisticated advisory services.

As a market leader in the South Asia region, Credit Suisse in 2019 built a healthy pipeline of clients and net new assets inflow by smartly prospecting existing and new clients with the support of each country’s market leaders and senior relationship managers. In conjunction, the bank was actively training and preparing assistant relationship managers and junior bankers to take over the baton, steadily readying its staff well ahead of the expected influx of clients and AUM.

As a bank with a broad product shelf, notable leadership team, well-regarded bankers and a healthy pipeline of prospected clients, Credit Suisse made navigating a complicated yet actively growing sub-region seem like a breeze via its sophisticated business execution, forward-looking strategies and well-thought-out approach.

Credit Suisse is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – South Asia HNW for 2019.