Elliot Wilson

WEALTH

JULIUS BAER, BANK JULIUS BAER, CEO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GESCHAEFTSFUEHRER, MANAGEMENT,

The building and rebuilding of Julius Baer

Pure-play Swiss private bank Julius Baer has had to reconfigure its business model for the 2020s. Chief executive Philipp Rickenbacher talks to Euromoney about why scale and nurturing talent are key to the long-term success of a firm that does just one thing and one thing well: serving wealthy private clients.

Elliot Wilson, March 30, 2023

WEALTH

Can Wealth at Work become a blueprint for the industry?

Citi’s Wealth at Work, which delivers wealth services to white-collar professionals in sectors from law and asset management to private equity, is less than two years old. Its founder and global head Naz Vahid talks to Euromoney about the concept and where the division can go from here.

Elliot Wilson, March 30, 2023

WEALTH

Woman in back of car using mobile phone, chauffeur in foreground

India’s wealth is too big to ignore

Private banks that fled India in the 2010s are returning in force. Those that never left are frantically hiring. With a fast-growing economy creating a lot of new wealth across every sector, India is once again the toast of wealth managers.

Elliot Wilson, March 30, 2023

WEALTH

Wealth management: Counting the cost of the content makers

A few years ago, some big banks didn’t have a chief investment officer. Today, CIOs oversee a vast network of experts churning out reports, podcasts and webinars to help corporates plan ahead and families grow their wealth. How is all this content created? And how much does it all cost?

Elliot Wilson, March 30, 2023

OPINION

Credit Suisse’s collapse and private banking’s wealth carousel

Will the fall of Credit Suisse be a seismic moment for private banking? Probably not – the reality is that wealthy clients need their financial advisers too much. Wealth is flighty for sure, but it usually alights nearby at a more stable lender.

Elliot Wilson, March 21, 2023

OPINION

Deutsche’s private bank cost-cutting crusade pays off

The COO of Deutsche Bank’s International Private Bank, Sandra Wirfs, tells Euromoney how it has been able not just to slash costs but also to make its wealth management business more cost-efficient than the core bank.

Elliot Wilson, March 07, 2023

OPINION

China: Bao Fan’s disappearance sends a bad signal at a tricky time

The whereabouts of investment banker Bao Fan are unknown just when China wants to attract foreign talent and capital, not deter it.

Elliot Wilson, February 22, 2023

WEALTH

Deutsche’s private bank-powered turnaround continues apace

Four years ago, Christian Sewing set out to give the German bank new direction. His plan, based on income-rich services like private banking, continues to surprise and succeed. Euromoney caught up with the head of International Private Bank, Claudio de Sanctis, to discuss last year’s financials and his plans in Asia and the Middle East.

Elliot Wilson, February 13, 2023

WEALTH

How Morgan Stanley’s big bet on wealth management paid off

A decade ago, the bank opted to go long on more durable sources of income – notably wealth management. Its standout 2022 financials are a clear sign of the benefits of long-term planning.

Elliot Wilson, January 25, 2023

BANKING

China: New Henan bank aims to boost governance, cut graft at local lenders

Last year, a connected cluster of village banks in the central province of Henan suffered one of China’s worst financial scandals in years. Beijing’s reaction: to create a new state bank that will take stakes in rural financial and credit institutions with the aim of spotting and weeding out corruption and improving financial governance.

Elliot Wilson, January 19, 2023

OPINION

Shenzhen eyes starring role as premier PB hub

The southern Chinese city has set out ambitious plans to become one of the world’s top wealth-management centres. With one of China’s largest onshore pools of private wealth, there is everything to play for.

Elliot Wilson, January 19, 2023

BANKING

Hong Kong IPO bankers hope for better in 2023

Initial public offerings by Chinese firms are Hong Kong’s lifeblood, yet they were rarer than hen’s teeth in 2022. For deal flow to return, China must open up. Buckle up: things could get bumpy.

Elliot Wilson, January 11, 2023

CAPITAL MARKETS

Does the Gulf’s breakout year signal lasting change?

The Middle East’s capital markets were awash with plus-sized IPOs in 2022, with a growing belief in its future.

Elliot Wilson, December 15, 2022

FINTECH

Laos fintech gives village banks, financial inclusion a timely boost

Three years ago, LTS Ventures was tasked with building a simple microfinance platform for Laos’s army of village banks and savings unions. It took off like a rocket, boosting financial inclusion, cutting fraud. Now the firm is eyeing fresh external funding and expansion across southeast Asia.

Elliot Wilson, December 07, 2022

OPINION

China’s panicky policymakers tell banks to bail out ailing developers

Beijing recently ordered its state banks, including ICBC and Bank of China, to plough $162 billion worth of fresh credit into the country’s troubled property sector. In doing so, they look not proactive but panicky. A negative hit on lenders’ profits is inevitable.

Elliot Wilson, November 28, 2022

OPINION

China runs out of luck as anti-Covid protests bite

China is stuck. It has spent three years trying to keep Covid at bay, but now irate citizens have spilled onto the streets, questioning the competency of president Xi Jinping, and calling for an end to restrictions – just as transmission rates spike.

Elliot Wilson, November 28, 2022

OPINION

Hong Kong’s big ‘coming-in’ party points to a city losing its lustre

Last week’s financial summit aimed to show investors Hong Kong is open for business. While well attended, it also served as a reminder of how closed off the financial hub has become and how much of its lustre has been lost.

Elliot Wilson, November 07, 2022

BANKING

The financial district with the headquarters of Germany's largest business bank, Deutsche Bank , is photographed on early evening in Frankfurt

Deutsche Bank profits aided by resurgent private bank

The German bank’s strong third-quarter earnings are a partial result of forming a new international private bank division two years ago, honing it and continuing to invest in the strategy.

Elliot Wilson, November 04, 2022

WEALTH

Israel, tech and a virtuous circle of wealth

Three-quarters of a century ago, the state of Israel didn’t exist. Today, it is a leader in technologies ranging from plant-based meat to cybersecurity. Huge sums of new wealth are being created by ambitious entrepreneurs, much of it recycled into new ideas by risk-taking investors.

Elliot Wilson, November 04, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Qatar eyes diversification and identity beyond the World Cup

Qatar has spent 12 years and more than $200 billion preparing for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20. What happens when the games end and the tourists leave?

Elliot Wilson, November 03, 2022

BANKING

HSBC expands its PB reach into western China

In February, HSBC’s head of global private banking China, Jackie Mau, set out ambitious plans for the mainland. He’s proving as good as his word: the UK lender has opened two new, full-service wealth management offices in Hangzhou and Chengdu, with more to follow in 2023 and 2024.

Elliot Wilson, October 13, 2022

OPINION

China crisis: Six numbers highlight rising distress

Six seemingly random numbers, when threaded together, demonstrate that some kind of negative watershed event may not be too far off in China.

Elliot Wilson, October 04, 2022

BANKING

Judge's hammer gavel and bank note.Representation of corruption and bribery in the judiciary.

Correspondent banking faces a costly and complex future

Not long ago, correspondent banking was as basic as finance got. These days it is compliance and cost-heavy and in the crosshairs of aggressive and powerful regulators. Little wonder that so many banks are exiting small or fragile markets – actions that help their bottom line but hinder efforts at financial inclusion.

Elliot Wilson, September 28, 2022

OPINION

China’s crises threaten Xi Jinping’s legacy

China’s property sector is in freefall and Covid lockdowns are throttling growth as bad loans pile up at the banks. As president Xi Jinping prepares for an unprecedented third term, a deluge of crises threatens to destroy the country's four-decade economic miracle.

Elliot Wilson, September 27, 2022

BANKING

A European retreat opens the door to Middle East banks in Africa

As European and Chinese banks scale back in Africa to cut costs and redeploy capital to core markets, Middle East lenders are happily jumping in to fill the gap, buying assets and putting more boots on the ground as bilateral trade between the regions increases.

Elliot Wilson, September 26, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Sri Lanka Sees Economic Growth From Chinese Money

Not dead yet: The future of China’s belt and road

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is as controversial now as it was a decade ago. Yet its legacy endures. Even as Beijing cuts funding to debt-saddled BRI states, the West is emulating Xi Jinping’s flagship development plan. The BRI is not dead but is quietly mutating into something much bigger and – whisper it quietly – perhaps better.

Elliot Wilson, September 22, 2022

OPINION

China’s US IPO audit climbdown signals fragility

China’s decision to let US regulators audit its New York-listed corporates is a shock. It’s a U-turn, a climbdown and a sign, more than anything, of China’s enduring financial frailty.

Elliot Wilson, September 09, 2022

WEALTH

How Abbove figured out how to show families their wealth

When the founders of Belgian digital disruptor Abbove held a meeting with 120 wealthy families, all had the same tale of woe, unable to grasp the complexity of their money and getting little help from their private bankers. Abbove set out to create a platform to let them do just that.

Elliot Wilson, September 05, 2022

CAPITAL MARKETS

Laos’s China problem is ominously similar to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka's

Laos faces bankruptcy, but like another crisis-ridden Asian state, Sri Lanka, its future is not in its own hands. That role is played by China, whose aggressive lending has helped to take one country to the brink of default and the other well past it.

Elliot Wilson, July 25, 2022

WEALTH

Credit Suisse’s PBI team and the push to serve the missing middle

Raffael Gasser is a hybrid: part Zurich wealth manager, part Silicon Valley disruptor. He was tasked with crunching data to serve ‘classic’ PB customers who sit just below the ultra-wealthy segment and are often, curiously, overlooked. Here is how he got on.

Elliot Wilson, July 19, 2022

Elliot Wilson

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