In 2019, Validus Wealth, a provider with 200 staff in 14 cities including Mumbai and Delhi founded by former DSP Merrill Lynch banker Atul Singh, underwent a business transfer agreement with LGT
LGT, the largest family-owned Private Banking and Asset Management Group in the world, has got into the act to woo India’s wealthy. Owned by the Princely House of Liechtenstein, a wealthy European micro-state whose chief exports include sausage skins and false teeth, the firm said on October 21 it would offer “comprehensive” wealth management via its local arm, LGT Wealth India.
It’s not a sudden move. In 2019, Validus Wealth, a provider with 200 staff in 14 cities including Mumbai and Delhi founded by former DSP Merrill Lynch banker Atul Singh, underwent a business transfer agreement with LGT.
India was too expensive for foreign lenders bruised by cut-throat competition, razor-thin pricing and the cost of serving a narrow and scattered set of high-net-worth families
Prince Max Von und zu Liechtenstein, Chairman, LGT, said the firm aimed to be a top-three private client business “in the next five years”. Rivals gave the announcement a cautious thumbs-up. “They’re placing themselves in the global corridor, which is good positioning,” said a veteran private banker. “But the space is crowded and LGT has no brand recall in India, so they will find it difficult.”
According to the report, until recently, one could count the number of successful international private banks in India. Morgan Stanley and UBS both exited onshore wealth management. Last year, Euromoney revealed Citi was cutting its losses, part of a plan to get out of 13 Asian and EMEA markets. India was too expensive for foreign lenders bruised by cut-throat competition, razor-thin pricing and the cost of serving a narrow and scattered set of high-net-worth families.
Perhaps not. HSBC, for example, scrapped its onshore wealth management business in 2015. But in July, its India Chief Executive Hitendra Dave unveiled plans to return within 12 months, bearing a full suite of private wealth products. It aims to cater to wealthy non-resident Indians, which it serves out of London, Dubai and Singapore.
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