It has been a curious year for private banking and wealth management, an industry that profits more – if only in the short term – when times are bad.
That’s not an indictment, merely a statement of reality.
When hardship hits – in this case, the Covid pandemic – those with deeper pockets look to relationship managers for help. Two shifts follow.
First, wealth seeks out geographic safe havens. Second, it gravitates toward the best big private banks, or to niche wealth managers with high capital ratios and good credit ratings.
At that point, a canny call can make a client a lot of money. When markets gyrate, it is easier for a hard-working private banker to shine. And it has been a good year for most wealth management institutions.
But then the volatility eases and normality returns. As we head into 2021, bankers are asking where the returns will come from.
The key challenge will be at the start of the year, until vaccines get deployed and markets gain traction
Victor Matarranz, global head of Santander Wealth Management and Insurance at Banco Santander, has been giving the future a lot of thought of late.
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