Top 10 Global Private Banks

The private banking sector, which has struggled to attract new client assets since the onset of the financial crisis, rebounded strongly last year, according to the 2013 Scorpio Partnership Global Private Banking Benchmark report.

Firms on average posted a 23.7% increase in net new money in 2012, bouncing back from a drop of 27.9% in 2011.

This suggests that client confidence in global wealth managers is returning, the report said.

The benchmark report, now in its 12th year, includes data based on results from 209 private banks around the world.

Private banking assets under management last year grew by 8.7% over 2011 to $18.5 trillion, fueled by both net new money and strong performance in the markets, the report said.

But this success didn’t translate directly to the bottom line. Average pretax profits grew by 5.3% for 2012, compared with 12.3% for 2011. The report ascribed this to cost management, as operating costs continued to creep up.

“The industry needs to focus on working out its efficiency points and optimizing them,” Scorpio said in a statement. “The analysis of the data shows there are still signs of weakness in the model for many operators.”

The report noted that the evolution of the top tier of wealth managers over the past five years has been so dramatic that they constitute a “champions league” that is more likely to attract business through the factor of their scale and market coverage.

Following are the benchmark study’s 2013 top 10 private banks by assets under management.

10. Pictet

AUM: $322 billion

Growth 2012: 22.9%

Reporting currency: CHF (Swiss franc)

Ranking move: +1 (replacing JPMorgan)

9. BNP Paribas

AUM: $347 billion

Growth 2012: 9.7%

Reporting currency: EUR

Ranking move: Same

8. Deutsche Bank

AUM: $387 billion

Growth 2012: 11.1%

Reporting currency: EUR

Ranking move: Same

7. HSBC

AUM: $398 billion

Growth 2012: 5.6%

Reporting currency: USD

Ranking move: Same

6. Royal Bank of Canada