PWM/The Banker Private Banking Awards 2013: Middle East and Africa

Best Private Bank in the Middle East: Standard Chartered Private Bank

The Middle East has been a strategic region for Standard Chartered Private Bank for almost a century, enabling the bank to forge deep ties with its clients in the Middle East who are often second-generation business owners facing the challenges of balancing the need for capital and the family desire for liquidity, as well as issues of leadership transition and asset transfer between generations. The bank’s key client solutions team, based in the United Arab Emirates, is a specialist in family advisory and supports the regional managers, as well as directly handling a small number of institutional-sized clients.

The bank has also made inroads into the fast-growing Muslim market in the Middle East through its Islamic banking offering, which was rolled out in the Dubai Advisory Centre in 2012. 

In India’s fragmented private banking landscape, Standard Chartered Private Bank ranks highly in delivering its ‘One Bank’ value proposition. Clients include 77 of the top 100 richest Indians on the Forbes Rich List. The bank is also heavily involved in India’s communities, recently raising funds for a Seeing is Believing project in Kolkata that has sponsored 8592 cataract surgeries and screening for 122,790 people. 

The acquisition of Morgan Stanley’s Indian wealth management unit also adds material scale.

“India and the Middle East are key contributors to our private banking business,” says Stephen Richards Evans, head of private banking for the West at Standard Chartered. “Specifically in the Middle East, assets under management and revenues have experienced double-digit growth rates in the past year. Our Indian business continues to see strong growth and we have acquired the wealth management business of Morgan Stanley in India, which further fuels growth prospects and adds some great new talent for the business.

“Our long-standing on-the-ground presence in these and other core markets has enabled us to build deep client relationships based on strong regional affinity and thorough understanding of client needs. With an established footprint across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, we are also positioned superbly to connect clients to people, ideas and opportunities in the world’s fastest growing markets.”

Best Private Bank in the United Arab Emirates: National Bank of Abu Dhabi

Given the turmoil that has engulfed global markets and financial institutions in particular in recent years, the fact that the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has been ranked among Global Finance’s 50 safest banks in the world for five consecutive years, and considered to be the safest bank in the Middle East, is a huge plus point for its high-net-worth customers, according to Ashraf Mazahreh, NBAD’s head of private banking.

“Delivering an integrated value proposition is at the heart of our business, providing a one-stop-shop solution for our private clients regionally and internationally,” he says, highlighting the geographical benefits of its location for the bank’s ambitious global expansion strategy. “The United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi sit in a unique, strong and coveted position in the middle of an emerging important super region spanning from western Africa to east Asia,” says Mr Mazahreh.

NBAD offers an open-architecture investment approach as part of its tailor-made investment and wealth structuring services through a range of booking centres. The onshore operation enables offerings in the UAE and Middle East and north Africa region, while its Geneva-based offshore office enables its private clients to access a range of international opportunities. “We are able to cater to our clients’ specific requirements through our wholly owned subsidiary, NBAD Private Bank (Suisse) SA,” says Mr Mazahreh. Succession planning is also offered through its Jersey-based trust company, including sharia-compliant solutions.

Last year, NBAD launched its ‘Velvet’ private banking service that exclusively targets wealthy and successful businesswomen. “This serves a dual purpose: responding to cultural and social needs, as well as facilitating the provision of banking and wealth management services to women, who are recognised as an important segment, controlling more than 22% of the region’s total wealth in 2009,” says Mr Mazahreh. 

The bank is also increasing its presence within the non-resident Indian market, and is developing a specialised team to service this group’s unique requirements.

Best Private Bank in South Africa: Investec

Investec provides a wide range of financial productsand services to a niche client base in three principal markets – South Africa, the UK and Australia.

While Investec Private Bank offers banking services – including lending, transactional-based services and growth and acquisition finance – wealth management services such as portfolio management and stock broking are offered within Investec Wealth & Investment. However, clients have access to an integrated offering and the bank’s focus is on increasing cross-selling across different client bases. 

The private bank predominantly targets a market of qualified professional individuals who earn in excess of R850,000 ($85,900) a year, with a particular focus on accountants, senior medical professionals, actuaries, attorneys and engineers.

“Everything we undertake is underpinned by our philosophy of being ‘one bank’,” says Ciaran Whelan, global head of private banking. “For our clients, this means having a holistic view of their Investec portfolio, access to a variety of banking and investment services, as well as a seamless experience.”

The bank has recently revamped its online banking and introduced an Investec tablet app. A phone app is being rolled out soon. “We are constantly looking at improving systems and processes to make the client experience even better,” says Mr Whelan.

South Africa has experienced its share of economic and social volatility over the past year, meaning a very strong stock exchange performance has been overshadowed. “[At Investec], however, we started to see good growth in our private banking activities and we pride ourselves on employing a team of extraordinary people, who deliver remarkable client service,” says Mr Whelan.

South Africa’s economy has essentially doubled in real terms since 1994, generating substantial upward social mobility, with many now experiencing a significantly higher standard of living, according to Mr Whelan.

“Although global markets remain challenging, the improvement in equity markets bodes well for our business. With the rebalancing of capital-light and capital-intensive activities, we believe we have the right mix of businesses and revenue streams,” he says. 

Last year, Investec’s private banking and wealth and investment businesses attracted about R10bn in net new money, bringing total assets under management to R260.4bn.

Best Private Bank in Mauritius: AfrAsia Bank

AfrAsia Bank, formed in 2007,places a strong emphasis on clients’ circumstances and financial aspirations to craft products that offer wealth protection, according to Thierry Vallet, general manager of AfrAsia Private Banking. 

 “We provide solutions to our client’s needs over time, from wealth generation and management to preservation and the transfer to the next generation,” says Mr Vallet. “We value service and confidentiality remains a paramount component of our approach.”

To meet increasing client demand for capital protection, last year the bank launched innovative products through its asset management arm Axys Capital Management. One of its flagship funds is the AfrAsia Special Opportunities Fund, which invests in short-term, secured credit opportunities in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region, with a focus on the provision of credit to mid-market corporates. Capital-guaranteed structured products are also very popular with clients and the bank launched several structured notes with Axys and international banks. 

AfrAsia also offers third-party funds from approved partners, including JPMorgan, Franklin Templeton, UBS, Bank of America, Motilal Oswal, Bell Potter and Imara Asset Management.

In 2012, AfrAsia Private Banking’s number of clients increased by 42%, while net new money grew by 12% to MRs9bn ($291m), bringing assets under management to MRs22bn.

AfrAsia’s international presence remains an important component of its performance. “So far, our continued development has brought us clients from more than 80 nationalities,” says Mr Vallet. 

The bank has a presence in South Africa through its corporate finance entity and has acquired a 35% stake in Kingdom Financial Holdings (KFHL) in Zimbabwe. This new venture, which will open new channels of capital, lines of credit and deal flow for KFHL’s client base, is seen as an opportunity for AfrAsia to expand its franchise in the SADC region.

The bank also recently acquired a 20% shareholding in Geneva-headquartered New World Trust, which offers trust services and corporate strategic solutions to high-net-worth and international clients. 

AfrAsia is also licensed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India as a foreign institutional investor.