All articles by PBI Editorial
PBI Editorial
OCBC launches offshore deposit products
OCBC has launched two offshore deposit products designed to benefit from an appreciating Offshore Renminbi The launch reflects increasing demands from sophisticated high net worth investors looking to diversify their investment portfolios with exposure to Chinese Renminbi. The Renminbi Call Account and Renminbi Time Deposit products will allow clients to get returns dependent on the fluctuation of the Chinese currency.
Merrill Lynch releases Apple, Blackberry apps
Merrill Lynch has launched mobile applications (apps) on iPhone, iPad, and BlackBerry devices for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management and Merrill Edge clients. The mobile apps allow clients to view their portfolio, holdings, and account activity, transfer money between linked brokerage and banking accounts and trade, stocks, mutual funds in approved accounts Clients can also track market news and headlines, customise their watch lists, alerts, and other online features and gain access to the latest research reports from Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch Global Research
Kleinwort buys Close Brothers Offshore Group
UK-based private bank Kleinwort Benson is to acquire Close Brothers Offshore Group (COG) for £29.1m ($35m).
Berenberg FY10 profits down 6%, AuM hits ?25bn
German-based private bank Berenberg has posted a full year net profit of 61.5m ($13.6m), a decline of almost 6% from the previous year. Assets under management at the German-based private bank Berenberg increased by 16% in the twelve months to 31 December to 25.5bn. Berenberg also saw net new funds reach the highest figure in the banks history, although it did not disclose exact figures.
FSA: private bank risk practices ‘poor’
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has flagged concerns over wealth management businesses in the UK after identifying poor practices, including increasing clients risk levels and poor record keeping. The regulators Retail Conduct Risk Outlook analysed the wealth management activities of banks wealth management arms and independent wealth managers how many??. Concerns such as poor risk-profiling, unwarranted use of complex, illiquid, high-cost products and the use of convenient statistical data in wealth practices were highlighted
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FINMA reprimands HSBC Suisse for data theft
HSBC Private Banks 6% rise in assets under management in 2010 has been clouded by news that Swiss regulators found its Swiss unit breached regulatory provisions relating to the March 2010 theft of client data. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said a year-long investigation into the theft found deficiencies in HSBCs internal organisation and oversight of its IT activities that resulted in a serious breach of the bank’s licensing requirements. The investigation stems from the theft of an estimated 15,000 client accounts from HSBC Private Bank in Switzerland in March last year
Lloyds wealth and international unit posts £4.8bn pre-tax loss
Lloyds Banking Groups wealth and international business unit fell further into the red in fiscal 2010 with a pre-tax loss of £4.8bn, an increase of 104% from the previous year. On a positive note, the wealth business posted a pre-tax profit of £269m in fiscal 2010, an increase of 36% versus the previous fiscal.
Baer whistleblower loses police custody appeal
Former Julius Baer private banker Rudolf Elmer has lost his appeal against a court ruling and is to remain in prison over allegedly breaching Swiss banking secrecy twice. Elmer was arrested on 22 January following reports that he had passed on two CD’s to Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks. The two CDs allegedly contain details of about 2,000 private clients with offshore accounts.
UBS returns to the black with FY10 net profit of CHF7.5bn
UBS has returned to the black, posting a net profit for the 12 months to 31 December of CHF7.5bn ($7.7bn), compared with a net loss of CHF2.1bn in the prior fiscal The bank said that the improved performance resulted from reduced expenses for credit losses, an increase in trading income as well as a goodwill impairment charge in fiscal 2009.
Credit Suisse FY10 net income slumps 24%
Credit Suisse has posted a full-year net income of CHF5bn ($5.1bn), down 35% from the prior fiscal. Net new assets in its wealth management business grew 28.3% year on year to CHF45.3bn. Credit Suisses private banking unit, which comprises wealth management and corporate and institutional client business, posted a 31.3% growth in net new assets in the twelve months to December to CHF54.6bn.