The performance of big wealth managers may take hit as a trade war between the United States and China hurts business in major growth market Asia, bankers said.
UBS (UBSG.S), Citi (C.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), HSBC (HSBA.L), Julius Baer (BAER.S) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) have relied on Asia to power private banking revenues.
But investors there are shying away from riskier assets and new investments due to volatile markets. Asian stock markets have fallen as much as a fifth over the U.S.-Chinese trade row, touching off fears of an economic downturn.
“The recent emerging markets crisis and the trade war have the led clients to adopt a little bit more risk-off mode,” said Kwong Kin-Mun, managing director, head of wealth management for Southeast Asia at Deutsche Bank.