Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services Credit Suisse

Sascha Zehnter head external asset managers, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific

CREDIT SUISSE

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 endclients; 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.

“We are very pleased that Credit Suisse has been named Best Private Bank – Intermediary Services for the third time. With our deep understanding of the market, access to our global platform and experienced team, we are well positioned to serve the needs of the EAM industry. We remain fully committed to growing the business and serving the needs of our EAM partners better by working towards bringing the best of digital solutions. I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to our EAM partners for their support.”

- Sascha Zehnter, head external asset managers, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific

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.

Benjamin Cavalli head of private banking South Asia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific

CREDIT SUISSE

Asia’s next generation of UHNW individuals is extremely susceptible to switching banks upon inheriting their wealth, or changing the method with which their portfolios are managed. Aware of this, Credit Suisse in 2019 actively engaged its relatively younger clients to increase their share of wallet with the private bank.

Building on close to a decade’s experience in serving APAC’s next-gens, Credit Suisse had its ears on the ground to hear out their clients’ concerns and aspirations for cross-regional wealth needs throughout their families’ lifecycle. Upon receiving the required information from its clients, the bank worked and reworked strategies internally to give its staff the ammunition necessary to draw in next-gens and offer services that speak to their aspirations.

Knowing that RMs face similar challenges in reengaging clients, the bank built best practice strategy sharing initiatives via conferences and developed a toolkit acting as a one-stop-shop for next-gen programmes, bank offerings, and resources.

The private bank sought to empower its next-gen clients within families by drawing them into the overall succession and wealth planning process, making sure they are business-ready and able to carve their spot in existing and future family governance. Wherever possible, it endeavoured to enhance the life aspirations of next-gen clients, and enrich and diversify their family ambitions.

Often ranked high in a next-gen’s laundry list of priorities is a bank’s commitment to ESG. To align its interests with its target client base, Credit Suisse beefed up its ESG team, creating the role of impact advisory head in late 2019 and poaching a top impact investing head from its close rival. The bank co-launched the Social Impact Awards in partnership with Generation T, a platform from Asia Tatler, to commemorate 10 young leaders who have made significant contributions to the Asian community in social impact, sustainability, or innovation.

“The next generation and the transfer of assets within families is today an increasingly important topic. It is vital that as a trusted advisor, we listen and actively engage our next generation clients to guide them on their way to become the steward and the custodian of their family wealth, to preserve and grow their family’s financial assets, and to ensure that the family values and essential skillsets are passed on to future generations.

We are delighted to receive this award for the third time. Credit Suisse has a strong track record in partnering with the next generation, and in fact, 2020 marks the 10 th year of our next generation programs in APAC. Our premier programs are dedicated to helping the next generation feel more confident in dealing with finance, investments and areas they have increasing interest in such as impact investing, in order to better prepare them for the responsibility of running the family business or managing the family’s wealth.”

- Benjamin Cavalli, head of private banking South Asia, Credit Suisse Private Banking Asia Pacific

The quality of Credit Suisse’s next-gen engagement was reflected too in its well-known programmes and conferences, that boosted APAC participation rates in the global private banking franchise. The Young Investors Organisation — a network for the world’s wealthy young investors — had over 40% of its members coming from APAC. The youngest end of the next-gen spectrum (aged 12-17) had access to the Young Founders School, a bootcamp for children to form their own startup ideas through the mentorship of local entrepreneurs, while next-gens on the older end are able to network with like-minded peers in the bank’s Philanthropists Forum, Family Ties Program APAC, and Family Office Private Circle.

While Credit Suisse in 2019 was far ahead of the pack in terms of engaging next-gens, the Judging Panel is confident that the private bank will continue to make strides.

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

Vikas Sharma head – wealth management solutions, wealth management, IDFC FIRST Bank

Tejas Maniar platforms head – digital solutions, IDFC FIRST Bank

IDFC FIRST BANK

In an industry that is traditionally bogged down by legacy systems and existing operational inefficiencies, private banks that adopt a truly digital approach in serving HNW clients are the exception and can be easily singled out from the pack. IDFC FIRST Bank is one such firm. Despite its youth — it was the result of a merger between IDFC Bank and Capital First in late 2018 — the bank by 2019 had already demonstrated an elevated level of professionalism and digital delivery that set it apart from other banks, not just in onshore India but also Asia Pacific.

The bank’s commitment to being digital-led grew from the conscious decision to do away with its physical infrastructure, after realising that digital capabilities would enable the firm to deliver wealth management products and services to its clients in a much shorter time-to-market. In 2019, the risky decision paid off: despite tumultuous Indian market conditions, the bank’s AUM grew 24% in just under seven months, making it the fastest-growing bank in the country. Supported by other digital tools, RM headcount effectively doubled, and the number of family clients increased by almost 50% in the same timeframe.

A major roadblock for most onshore Indian wealth managers is the necessity to deal with disparate regulatory bodies. In IDFC FIRST’s case, the firm was required to deal with at least four watchdogs to conduct its daily operations, which potentially translated into a quadrupling of the number of forms and KYC processes to clear, resulting in significant time wasted. IDFC FIRST was able to anticipate this by using technology to onboard prospective clients digitally, minimalising the back-and-forth and time needed to satisfy the four separate bodies.

Onboarding, it turns out, only scratched the surface of IDFC FIRST’s digital capabilities. From regular portfolio reviews to having its tech tools assist in transactions, IDFC FIRST is of the view not only that automation can speed up manual tasks, but that standardised processes will ensure that technology omits any human-led biases and errors that could interfere with portfolio and investment recommendations. As a result, IDFC FIRST’s business-as-usual is paperless, online, and convenient.

Despite its young operational age, IDFC FIRST has demonstrated that it has what it takes to be a promising leader in digital innovation within the private banking industry.

IDFC First is Asian Private Banker’s Best Private Bank – Digital Innovation & Services for 2019.