Is HSBC The Only Clean Wealth Manager in Town?
UBS remains the world’s leading wealth management house with assets under management increasing by 15.4 per cent to $ 1.96 trillion.
In terms of the world’s top 25 asset managers, growth of 11 per cent was experienced across the whole sector.
The only bank to show declining assets was HSBC which saw assets drop by 4 per cent to $ 382 billion. The bank also slipped two places in the rankings to eight. This situation is as a consequence of HSBC’s decision to de-risk its client base. Following the US money laundering fines, the bank has pursued a policy of not dealing with any clients it does not fully know. HSBC claims that this process has now come to an end and it expects to start growing its books.
Does this mean that other organisations have been taking on business whose source they are unsure of? If so, why have they not been sanctioned by regulators?