Credit Suisse sees an opportunity to gain market share among
entrepreneurs as it looks to leverage its financial strength and
brand.
Ian Marsh, CEO of private banking in the UK, said rivals were
turning away from the segment but Credit Suisse would continue to
target business owners.
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“Now is the time to look after these clients,” he told Private
Banker International.
“Their wealth is tied up in their businesses, and they are probably
a few years further away from a liquidity event than they might
have thought. This is the time they need help to finance in
different ways.”
Marsh said the key things entrepreneurs were looking for in the
current climate were not necessarily wealth management products,
but included:
• help financing growth;
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By GlobalData• M&A advisory around how to grow their business;
• private placements, for businesses that were not as near to IPOs
as the owner had anticipated;
• and, for clients that have cash and are looking for other assets,
Marsh said the bank can often work to identify, access and package
relevant assets for them.
Marsh said access to the capital sections of the investment bank
formed a central part of its offering to entrepreneurs.
Other private banks which have high profile campaigns to pursue
entrepreneurs in wealth management include Barclays Wealth and
Standard Chartered.
Barclays Wealth is sponsoring Ernst & Young’s Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Singapore until 2011 as part of
a marketing initiative to the segment.
Didier von Daeniken, CEO of Barclays Wealth Asia-Pacific, said the
bank had an unparalleled understanding of entrepreneurs, adding
business owners were in need of suitable services “in these
challenging times”.
But some private bankers regard entrepreneurs as risky clients to
chase, describing it as a “toxic segment”, particularly as the
economy worsens and loan defaults increase. They say the
illiquidity of entrepreneurs’ wealth, which is often tied up in
their businesses and sometimes highly geared, can strain
relationships and result in losses.
