Private banking

Overview 

While Assets under Management (AUM) continue to grow in the Asia Pacific region, the private wealth management industry still faces a series of challenges, especially when it comes to achieving excellence in client experience and managing transformation. Key issues include:

• Financial crime and AML - practical challenges with the depth and breadth of KYC documentation and collaboration e.g. source of wealth and funds;
• Onboarding - reduction in the number of manual processes and streamlining the complexity and volume of forms;
• Cyber Security - prevention and monitoring strategies and tools to detect and respond to security breaches rapidly;
• Cost cutting / organisation and process simplification - streamlining processes and organisational structure;
• Fintech - use of technology (emerging trends - digital onboarding, robo-advice, etc.);
• Selling practices and suitability - regulatory attempts to raise the bar on fair and ethical dealings with customers, requiring private banks to have robust controls on customer disclosures; monitoring of product risk ratings to prevent selling of "mismatched" investment products to customers;
• Regulatory challenges - developments in global regulations that change the way that banks have traditionally managed their sale of wealth management products;
• Intensified competition

Private banks are continually forced to re-evaluate their business models, products, services, infrastructure and delivery channels in order to adapt to the ever-changing business and regulatory environment. In order to succeed, private banks need to manage transformation properly to overcome challenges around operations and technology and enhance the customers' experience to meet the demands of customers and regulators.