Morgan Stanley’s wealth business went from 2.5 million client relationships to 18 million over the course of a couple of years. Now, a quartet of steely US regulators is looking at how the division manages potentially risky clients. Given its rapid pace of growth, this is perhaps less of a surprise than it initially appears.

After a decade of restructuring, EFG International ramped up hiring last year – above all from Credit Suisse. Chief executive Giorgio Pradelli talks about the firm’s scope to lead a wave of Swiss-bank consolidation, while doubling down on new wealth from the Middle East and Asia.

Credit Suisse’s domestic bank was arguably the failed group’s best and strongest division. One year after the rescue, UBS is not the only one trying to feast on its domestic wealth-management and corporate-banking leftovers. Other Swiss and international players also hope to benefit from the longer-term fallout in Switzerland. Will the rush to pick up the remnants of the fallen champion pay off?

Global money is flooding into India to profit from high-performing stocks, a booming economy, and the ease of investing via Gift City, a growing financial hub in Gujarat. Local wealth is flowing the other way, notably to Dubai. It’s a gold mine for private banks, and the process has only just begun.

Norwegian wealth manager Formue has been growing revenues and assets since opening in 2000. It has done this by financially educating people who never gave much thought to wealth planning and by getting people to like it.

The UBS chief investment office’s sustainable and impact investing strategist wants to avoid measurement for the sake of measurement, but responding to client demand for more data while ensuring its readability remains a challenge.

The newest ESG trend in retail banking might be a niche offering for now, but all banks will have to take it seriously someday.

One of the first edicts handed down by Citi’s wealth head is to tell all private bankers to track and record client calls. It has ruffled feathers at the US lender, but if it transforms the unit into the powerhouse CEO Jane Fraser wants it to be, then so be it.

Bankers in the Middle East are intensifying their focus on succession planning as the first wave of intergenerational wealth transfer looms.

The Swiss bank stands apart from its peers. It helped its clients profit, both in the serene waters of 2019 and in the wake left by Covid-19 as it spread across the world in 2020

“I think this crisis has shown why being with a firm focused on wealth management as a primary business and having a global perspective matters to clients,” says Tom Naratil, co-chief executive of UBS global wealth management (GWM) and president of UBS Americas.

Our review period was a difficult one for private banking operations in the region, as it was worldwide: the fourth quarter wiped out huge chunks of revenues and assets for some international and local players, and it was a year that required sound individual advice for clients.

Household net financial wealth in CEE has roughly doubled since 2006 and private banking and wealth management services are increasingly in demand across the region.

For the second year running Credit Suisse is Latin America’s best bank for wealth management, this year bolstered by the completion of a three-year turnaround across the whole bank.

With a new strategy of regionalization, integration and innovation, Credit Suisse’s wealth management business has set itself apart from its peers and brought the ethos of Swiss personalized service to an international platform.

This year Lombard Odier is western Europe’s best bank for wealth management. It has $262 billion in client assets, making it a medium-sized player, yet it succeeds in having the feel of a boutique wealth manager thanks to its structure.

Western Europe’s best bank for wealth management, Lombard Odier, was established 220 years ago. Yet despite a tight connection to its roots and with Patrick Odier as managing partner, the bank is an example of the new model of wealth management.

There are few banks that can advise wealthy clients across the multitude of different countries and cultures in CEE, but UniCredit has made itself the bank of choice for clients in nearly every single one, earning it the award for best bank for wealth management. Its focus for the last 12 months has been one of organic growth and innovation. The bank has focused on structured products.

The award for best bank for wealth management in Africa this year goes to Standard Bank. With R79 billion ($6.14 billion) in wealth and investment assets under advisory, Standard Bank is Africa’s largest wealth manager.

It has not been easy for those without a retail presence to win the affections of America’s wealthy, but UBS – Euromoney’s best bank for wealth management in North America – seems to have done just that. UBS Wealth Management Americas (WMA) this year had its most profitable first quarter in the history of the firm, following record third and fourth quarters in 2016.

The region’s wealthy are another group increasingly targeted by both local and international banks. The regional wealth management award goes to a firm with global breadth and expertise in this area, Credit Suisse, which also keeps the top spot in the Middle East in Euromoney’s 2017 private banking survey.

Results index Swiss bank UBS continues to be the biggest and strongest name in the wealth-management industry, but it scoops the Asia award not just for scale but for its demonstrable resilience and a model tuned to Asian entrepreneurial needs. Asia-Pacific wealth management head Edmund Koh likes to compare UBS to stainless steel: long-lasting, resilient, and nothing really marks it. The last bit hasn’t always been true at a group level, but in private wealth you can see his point: it has remained one of the businesses clients are not only loyal to but tend to gravitate towards when times are tough.

Results index Santander Private Banking wins the award for best bank for wealth management in Latin America due in large part to its ability to connect clients using a team of experts across the investment bank, commercial bank and investment management.

Few truly global wealth managers remain, but even if they did it would be hard to compete with UBS, the only bank to put wealth management at its core.

Results index BNP Paribas wins this year’s award for best bank in Europe for wealth management. In France, Benelux, Italy, Spain, the UK, Turkey, Switzerland and, increasingly, Germany, the bank has been gaining market share to become the trusted adviser for wealthy individuals in the region. Its net new asset flows were €1.9 billion in 2015.

Results index As the number of wealthy individuals in Africa increases, one bank is there to help them whether their needs are domestic, across the continent, or international – Standard Bank, this year’s best bank for wealth management. It operates in 20 countries within Africa; the private bank serves clients that earn more than R1 million a year, while its wealth management division services clients with potential investable assets of $1 million or more.

Results index Erste Bank’s deep relationships across central and eastern Europe, with governments, corporates and individuals, are unparalleled, which makes it an even more compelling bank for the region’s wealthy. Erste Bank wins the award for this year’s best bank in the region for wealth management.