Booming private wealth draws Credit Suisse to PH

Credit Suisse has received a license from local banking and corporate regulators to establish a representative office in the Philippines for its wealth management business.

In a statement, the international banking giant said its representative office would serve as an important liaison point to serve clients better.

The approvals were granted recently by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

According to Credit Suisse Research Institute’s (CSRI) Global Wealth Report 2017, total household wealth in the Philippines grew by 10.7 percent per annum since 2000 to reach $662 billion in 2017.

Adults with net wealth of over $1 million also grew by over 13 percent to reach 38,000, while the number of ultrahigh net worth (UHNW) individuals with more than $50 million in net wealth also grew 13 percent over the same period to over 400. These wealth segments are forecast to expand by more than 10 percent per annum in the next five years.

Much of the UHNW wealth in the Philippines remains in family businesses run by first or second generation entrepreneurs. According to a separate CSRI report on global family-owned companies, the Philippines ranks 11th globally in terms of the number of family-owned businesses, and sixth within Asia Pacific ex-Japan in terms of average market capitalization at $5.6 billion.

“The Philippines is an important part of Credit Suisse’s Southeast Asia franchise and we are committed to continuing to expand our domestic footprint in the Philippines and across Southeast Asia,” Credit Suisse Southeast Asia private banking head Benjamin Cavalli said.

Credit Suisse Asia-Pacific vice chair Lito Camacho described the firm as a leading financial advisor to the government and major corporates in the Philippines in the past few decades.

“We are committed to further deepening our client relationships and expanding our coverage in the country,” he said. —DAXIM L. LUCAS