DBS’ private bankers are the best in the world
We’ve already looked at the best investment bankers and traders in the world – a list dominated by American (and to a lesser extent, European) banks. But where are the best private bankers/wealth managers in the world? And are they in APAC?
Data from market intelligence provider Tricumen suggests precisely that. However, there’s only one Asian bank that dominates its international rivals: Singapore’s DBS.
Measured by two key metrics – operating revenue per front office employee, and pre-tax profit margin – DBS’ wealth managers were wildly ahead of any rivals, measuring nearly three standard deviations above their peer group.
The closest rival, JPMorgan, only scored one standard deviation above the peer group for pre-tax profit margin, and less than one above the peer group for operating revenue per front office employee. Outsize performance made the majority of DBS’ rivals look below average.
The only metric by which DBS was handily beaten was in operating revenue measured against assets under management (AUM). Although DBS was still above the peer group average, the star of that show was Royal Bank of Canada, which achieved results 2.5 standard deviations against the peer-group average.
India might have a big part to play in DBS’ success. As Tricumen points out, a number of banks have (recently) established an onshore presence in the country, including Barclays, Julius Baer, HSBC, and UBS. DBS, however, has been in the country for some time.
The charts below show relative performance, measured by the metric in the title. Banks are compared relative to a group average, in standard deviations from that average. The dashed circle indicates the average. Each dash on the lines emanating from the center indicate half a standard deviation from the average. The further from the centre, the better.
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