What we said

BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s record haul of seven wins at Asian Private Banker’s 12th Awards for Distinction is a reflection of the exceptional leadership capabilities of Arnaud Tellier, the private bank’s regional CEO. Those capabilities will have been tested more than ever in 2022, when the standard 60/40 equities and bond portfolio suffered its worst performance in decades, leaving wealth clients with few places to hide, said Daniel Shane, editor of Asian Private Banker.

Yet, under Tellier’s leadership, BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s regional operation has ably helped clients navigate this volatility while enhancing its investment platform and product suite, and solidifying its position in key markets. Those achievements are recognised in BNP Paribas Wealth Management’s success in such Awards for Distinction categories as
Best Private Bank – Hong Kong, Best Private Bank – Investment Advisory, Best Private Bank – Sustainable Investments, and Best Private Bank – Discretionary Portfolio Management.

Those victories have by no means been easy for Tellier. His appointment to the role of sole Asia-Pacific CEO came just weeks before the outbreak of COVID-19. Just months after taking up the hot seat, the private bank made the difficult decision to exit the onshore India market entirely, shedding billions of dollars of Asia-Pacific AUM in the process.

However, these decisions seem prescient in hindsight. After experiencing a record year for revenue in 2021 in Asia-Pacific, the bank made major inroads into solutions such as DPM, which yielded a record in 2022 in terms of penetration. In addition, BNP Paribas Wealth Management has injected digitalisation into a broader array of offerings, and has drastically accelerated client onboarding.

In Hong Kong — the North Asia stronghold of BNP Paribas Wealth Management — the bank has kept going from strength to strength. The lender has a penetration rate of 70% among the city’s billionaires, all the while recording robust growth in key metrics such as revenue, AUM and net operating income. Against a backdrop of increasing linkages between the private bank and the rest of the BNP Paribas group, BNP Paribas Wealth Management has seen a notable increase in clients drawn to its one-bank platform. In 2022, the private bank onboarded 70% more clients in Hong Kong than the year before.

In the most testing of years, BNP Paribas Wealth Management Asia Pacific operation thrived under Tellier’s leadership, and we are delighted to recognise him as Asian Private Banker‘s Private Banker of the Year for 2022.