Bank of America leaft UBS behind as the world's biggest wealth manager

A survey by specialist consultancy Scorpio Partnership of 14,000 private bankers and 7,000 wealthy individuals showed that private wealth managed by banks and investment managers around the world decreased nearly 17 percent to $14.5 trillion in 2008 from a year earlier. The fall in managed wealth, the first since 2002, highlights the industry pressures of the global financial crisis and weakening bank secrecy in offshore centres after years of buoyant growth. 

According to Scorpio forecasts, another 12 months for those market players who fail to address current challenges will be very tough. Managing Partner Sebastian Dovey says 2009-2010 will be a moment of truth for the global private banking model. 

Bank of America rose to become the world's largest bank to the rich after taking over Merrill Lynch last year and managed at the end of 2008 $1.5 trillion of private clients' assets. While UBS managed to hold the second position with $1.394 trillion, in spite of its massive outflows. 

However, wealth is still concentrated in the United States  and in the hands of a few players, disregarding a perception that the sector is overly fragmented. 

Meanwhile, Citi bank ranked third, Wells Frago was fourth and Credit Suisse was fifth. JPMorgan fell to sixth spot. And the last four positions are held by Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. 

In addition, the survey showed that the top 20 global private banks manage nearly $9.2 trillion, or more than a half of global private client assets.