UBS or Credit Suisse: Where should you work as a banker in Asia?

UBS and Credit Suisse are battling to secure the assets of Asia’s millionaires and to hire the region’s best private bankers.

The two firms boast the largest headcounts in Asian private banking – UBS has more than 1,180 relationship managers in the region, while its Swiss rival employs nearly 500. And now, under the leadership of new CEO Tidjane Thiam, Credit Suisse is expected to follow UBS by focusing on wealth management and scaling back investment banking.

But which is the best firm to work for if you are a private banker in Asia considering your next move? Careers experts in the sector give us their opinions across eight key areas.

Best for schmoozing with investment bankers: Credit Suisse

UBS and Credit Suisse are leading the current trend of integrating private banking and investment banking in order to provide wealthy Asian entrepreneurs with access to M&A and capital markets services. “Credit Suisse is further down this path – its ‘solutions partners’ desk, which caters to the IB requirements of private clients, is the best in the market today,” says Rahul Sen, a former private banker who’s now head of wealth management at search firm The Omerta Group in Singapore.

Best for technological back up: UBS

“Information technology, trade-input processes, structured-notes processes, client-portfolio recommendations and report-generating processes: these are generally more automated at UBS, at least for now,” says a Singapore-based headhunter who asked not to be named because of client confidentiality. Expect technological competition between the banks to heat up in Asia in the near future. Credit Suisse chose Singapore to develop and launch its new digital wealth platform, while UBS is opening an IT “innovation lab” in the Republic later this year.

Best for bonuses: UBS

At Credit Suisse, expect a bonus (calculated as a percentage of annual revenue minus base pay) of about 8% – UBS is a notch higher at 12%. But as our bonus survey shows, both firms have lower percentages than all their major rivals – boutique European wealth managers pay up to 20%, while you can get 30% at US private banks. The Swiss giants generally rely on their superior product platforms and client coverage to lure talent in Asia.

Best for flat management: Credit Suisse

“Credit Suisse is less hierarchical, but UBS is at least leaner in its management structure than it was before the financial crisis,” says the headhunter. “Since UBS has more than 1,000 RMs in Asia, it does need to create more layers of management to manage its bankers.”

Best for training: UBS

Sen says both banks are “very good” on this front compared with their competitors in Asia, but UBS has a “very slight edge” thanks to its business university in Singapore, which has been running training in wealth-management and other subjects since 2007. Credit Suisse is catching up fast, though. In January 2014 it opened a wealth institute in Singapore, providing courses focused on client-advisory services and leadership development.

Best brand for attracting new clients: Tie 

Despite UBS’s size advantage (it manages US$272bn in Asian assets compared with US$154bn at Credit Suisse), our experts called this one a dead heat. “UBS is a larger, more formal – but sometimes more intimidating – brand to clients in Asia, while Credit Suisse’s brand is generally perceived to be more friendly,” says another Singapore-based recruiter. However, given that both banks are big players in Asia, the main stumbling block to joining either of them is that too many of your clients may already have some of their money managed there – it’s common for wealthy Asians to use several private banks.

Best for product support: UBS

“UBS has bigger product support and specialist teams across its sub divisions in Asia,” says the second headhunter. “Bankers I speak with there also point out how comprehensive and detailed its product training is – it’s a real emphasis for UBS.”

Best for leadership: Credit Suisse

The appointment of Tidjane Thiam has boosted morale within Credit Suisse’s Asian wealth ranks, says a private banker in Singapore who has worked for both banks. “There’s a positive feeling there now that he has been outspoken about private banking in the region being a key area for growth. There’s a feeling that they can compete equally with UBS,” he adds.

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