Private Banks Are Starting to Breach the Wall Around China’s Wealthy
ByGlobal wealth managers have been seeking to tap into the second-biggest pool of ultrarich people for years, but regulations and tough domestic competition stood in their way.
It’s hard to put numbers on the vast private banking opportunity in China, but here are some: $29 trillion in household wealth and $15 trillion in the asset management industry. Perhaps the most crucial number right now is the more than $1 trillion packaged by local Chinese money managers into principal-guaranteed investment products, which are the focus of a government crackdown.
That intervention has given global banks a reason to reevaluate onshore China, a market that none of them has come close to conquering. What has long looked like a slam-dunk opportunity—the second-biggest pool of ultrarich people in the world—also comes with cumbersome regulations and strong competition from homemade financial brands. But Francois Monnet, head of private banking North Asia at Credit Suisse Group AG, is betting it’s still better to arrive early to the party than late…
Private Banks Are Starting to Breach the Wall Around China’s Wealthy
