Private Banking Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Sarah Davis | Last updated: October 12, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore held $7.9 trillion, or 50.3% of the $15.7 trillion in cross-border private wealth booked worldwide in 2025, according to Axis Intelligence Research calculations on Boston Consulting Group data. Inside the banks, the Axis Private Wealth Franchise Index (PWFI) ranks EFG International first at 66.2 and Bank of America GWIM last at 38.3.
Quick Answer
Private banks serve 25.3 million millionaires holding $98.3 trillion (Capgemini, 2025). Hong Kong and Switzerland tie as the largest booking centers at $2.9 trillion each, ahead of Singapore at $2.1 trillion. According to Axis Intelligence Research, the six-franchise PWFI baseline averages 53.6, led by EFG International at 66.2.
Key Findings
- According to Axis Intelligence Research, three booking centers, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Singapore, hold 50.3% of the $15.7 trillion in global cross-border wealth (BCG data, 2025).
- EFG International leads the Axis Private Wealth Franchise Index (PWFI) with a baseline reading of 66.2 as of June 30, 2026, against a six-franchise average of 53.6.
- Axis Intelligence Research finds a 1.99x revenue-margin gap across large wealth franchises: EFG International books 87.3 basis points on client assets, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management 43.8.
- A J.P. Morgan Global Private Bank client advisor carries $928.4 million of client assets on average, 2.95 times an EFG International banker’s $315.0 million book, according to Axis Intelligence Research.
- Only 19% of high-net-worth individuals used a single wealth firm in 2025, down from 39% in 2019, according to the Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026.
How Much Wealth Do Private Banks Serve in 2026?
The client pool is larger than it has ever been. The Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026 counts 25.3 million high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs, people with $1 million or more in investable assets) at the end of 2025, holding $98.3 trillion. HNWI wealth grew 8.7% in the year.
The top of the pyramid is where private banks earn their keep. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, defined by Capgemini as holding $30 million or more, numbered roughly 250,000, up 9.4%, and their wealth grew 9.7%. According to Axis Intelligence Research, that segment is 0.99% of the HNWI population, and the average HNWI holds $3.885 million (98.3 trillion divided by 25.3 million).
The United States alone counts 8.7 million HNWIs in the Capgemini data. For the American household picture by wealth tier, the Axis US high-net-worth statistics page works from Federal Reserve distributional data rather than survey estimates.
| Metric (2025) | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global HNWI population | 25.3 million | Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026 |
| Global HNWI wealth | $98.3 trillion | Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026 |
| HNWI wealth growth | 8.7% | Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026 |
| UHNWI population (approx.) | 250,000 | Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026 |
| Average wealth per HNWI | $3.885 million | Axis Intelligence Research calculation |
| Global financial wealth, all households | $333 trillion | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026 |
Global household financial wealth reached $333 trillion in 2025, up 10.7%, in the BCG Global Wealth Report 2026. The two reports measure different things. Capgemini counts investable assets of millionaires; BCG counts the financial assets of every household. We publish both and do not blend them.
Sarah Davis: A 9.4% rise in the $30 million-plus population is the number a private bank strategy team actually cares about. That is the cohort that pays for lending desks, structuring and a dedicated banker. The mass of new millionaires below it is mostly being fought over by platforms with far thinner margins.
Where Is Private Wealth Booked? Hong Kong vs Switzerland vs Singapore
Private banking is a cross-border business before it is anything else: a client domiciled in one country books assets in another. BCG puts global cross-border wealth at $15.7 trillion in 2025, up 8.4%.
Booking center rankings for 2025
| Rank | Booking center | Cross-border wealth, 2025 | Added in 2025 | Growth in 2025 | Projected size, 2030 | Projected annual growth to 2030 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | $2.9 trillion | $284 billion | 10.7% | $4.6 trillion | 9% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 2 | Switzerland | $2.9 trillion | $207 billion | 7.6% | $4.0 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 3 | Singapore | $2.1 trillion | $196 billion | 10.3% | $3.3 trillion | 9% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 4 | United States | $1.6 trillion | $112 billion | 7.7% | $2.1 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | $1.0 trillion | $69 billion | 7.0% | $1.3 trillion | 5% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 6 | Channel Islands and Isle of Man | $0.8 trillion | $47 billion | 6.5% | $1.0 trillion | 5% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 7 | United Arab Emirates | $721 billion | $72 billion | 11.1% | $1.0 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 8 | Luxembourg | $0.6 trillion | $41 billion | 7.1% | $0.8 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 9 | Cayman Islands | $0.5 trillion | $31 billion | 6.5% | $0.7 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| 10 | Bahamas | $0.5 trillion | $33 billion | 7.8% | $0.6 trillion | 6% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
| All other centers | $2.0 trillion | $128 billion | 6.9% | $2.5 trillion | 5% | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026, Exhibit 2 |
According to Axis Intelligence Research, Hong Kong and Switzerland each account for 18.5% of global cross-border wealth and Singapore for 13.4%. The three Asian and Swiss hubs together hold $7.9 trillion, 50.3% of the total, and added $687 billion in 2025 alone. The top ten centers in BCG’s exhibit sum to $13.6 trillion, or 86.6%, consistent with BCG’s own statement that the top ten hold over 80% of the stock and took almost 90% of new flows.
On BCG’s projections, Hong Kong would lead Switzerland by $0.6 trillion in 2030, $4.6 trillion against $4.0 trillion, with Singapore at $3.3 trillion. The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s own asset management survey page was offline when this dataset was compiled, so Singapore figures here come from BCG only.
One discrepancy belongs on the record. BCG’s body text gives $15.7 trillion for global cross-border wealth; its key takeaways and one callout give $15.6 trillion for the same figure. We use $15.7 trillion and carry both values in the dataset.
Switzerland: CHF 2,945.7 billion in cross-border wealth management
The Swiss Bankers Association Banking Barometer 2026 reports CHF 2,945.7 billion in cross-border wealth management at the end of 2025, up 7.6% on a currency-adjusted basis. Total assets under management at banks in Switzerland, which include institutional and domestic money, reached CHF 9,729.1 billion in 2025 and CHF 10,119.5 billion by the end of May 2026.
Foreign-domiciled clients held 45.9% of Swiss-booked assets in 2025, down from 49.3% in 2015. According to Axis Intelligence Research, that share implies roughly CHF 4,465.7 billion of foreign-client assets across all Swiss banks.
Hong Kong: private banking AUM up 24% in 2025
The Securities and Futures Commission’s Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey 2025 puts Hong Kong’s private banking and private wealth management assets at HK$12,945 billion at the end of 2025, up 24%. Private banking net inflows reached HK$686 billion, up 79%.
According to Axis Intelligence Research, that is about $1,663.1 billion, using the SFC’s own conversion of HK$42,202 billion to $5,422 billion for the whole industry. Private banking is 30.7% of Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management assets and drew 33.2% of the industry’s HK$2,065 billion in net inflows. Non-Hong Kong investors supply 63% of the industry’s assets.
Why the two Hong Kong numbers do not match
BCG says $2.9 trillion; the SFC private banking figure converts to about $1,663.1 billion. These are different perimeters. BCG models the wealth of non-residents booked in a center, whatever the product; the SFC surveys licensed firms and counts all clients of the private banking line, residents included. Axis Intelligence Research declined to combine them, and the dataset records that decision as a retracted row.
Sarah Davis: The headline that Hong Kong “overtook” Switzerland rests on a tie at $2.9 trillion in BCG’s rounding. The cleaner signal is the dollars added in 2025: $284 billion for Hong Kong against $207 billion for Switzerland, with Singapore close behind at $196 billion from a smaller base. Asia’s two hubs together added more than twice what the oldest booking center in the business did.
The family-office side of the Hong Kong and Singapore rivalry, measured from government registration data, is covered in the Axis family office statistics.
What Are the Largest Private Banks and Wealth Managers by Client Assets?
Every bank defines its client asset base differently, so this table names the measure each one reports. Swiss franc and Singapore dollar figures are converted at the Federal Reserve’s H.10 noon buying rates for June 30, 2026: 0.8082 francs and 1.2941 Singapore dollars per US dollar.
| Franchise | Reported measure | Reported value | USD equivalent | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | Total client assets | $8,084 billion | $8,084 billion | Morgan Stanley 2Q26 financial supplement |
| JPMorganChase Asset & Wealth Management | Total client assets | $7,663 billion | $7,663 billion | JPMorganChase 2Q26 financial supplement (SEC) |
| UBS Global Wealth Management | Invested assets | $4,942 billion | $4,942 billion | UBS 2Q26 media release |
| Bank of America GWIM | Total client balances | $4,934.4 billion | $4,934.4 billion | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| JPMorganChase Global Private Bank | Private banking client assets | $3,824 billion | $3,824 billion | JPMorganChase 2Q26 financial supplement (SEC) |
| Citi Wealth | Total client balances (client investment assets $727 billion) | $1,350 billion | $1,350 billion | Citigroup 2Q26 financial supplement |
| Pictet Group | Assets under management or custody | CHF 810 billion | $1,002.2 billion | Pictet first-half 2026 figures |
| Julius Baer | Assets under management | CHF 547 billion | $676.8 billion | Julius Baer half-year 2026 |
| LGT | Assets under management | CHF 412.6 billion | $510.5 billion | LGT half-year 2026 |
| DBS Wealth | Wealth segment AUM | SGD 516 billion | $398.7 billion | DBS 2Q26 results |
| Vontobel | Advised client assets | CHF 284.8 billion | $352.4 billion | Vontobel half-year 2026 |
| EFG International | Assets under management | CHF 196.3 billion | $242.9 billion | EFG International half-year 2026 |
All values as of June 30, 2026. USD equivalents for non-USD banks are Axis Intelligence Research conversions.
Read the measures before reading the ranking. Morgan Stanley’s $8,084 billion includes $1,811 billion of self-directed brokerage assets, 22.4% of the total by Axis Intelligence Research’s calculation; its advisor-led assets are $6,273 billion. JPMorganChase’s 2Q26 financial supplement splits its $7,663 billion: $3,824 billion belongs to private banking clients, the rest to institutional clients and funds. Citi Wealth’s $1,350 billion includes Citigold retail deposits and loans alongside $727 billion of client investment assets. Pictet’s figure includes custody. Inside Bank of America’s GWIM supplement, the Private Bank itself holds $801.9 billion of the $4,934.4 billion, or 16.3%.
UBS is the largest non-US franchise in the table. Its 2Q26 media release reports Global Wealth Management invested assets of $4,942 billion, up $274 billion in the quarter, inside group invested assets of $7,326 billion. Deeper bank-level breakdowns live on the Axis UBS statistics, Morgan Stanley statistics, Bank of America statistics and JPMorgan Chase statistics pages.
How Fast Are Private Banks Gathering Net New Money in 2026?
Net new money (NNM) is the cleanest test of a private bank’s franchise: market gains flatter everyone, inflows have to be won. The table annualizes first-half or second-quarter flows over period-end assets so every bank sits on the same basis.
| Franchise | Net new money (period) | Annualized growth, Axis basis | Bank-reported rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | $148.1 billion (Q2) | 7.33% | Not stated | Morgan Stanley 2Q26 release |
| LGT | CHF 12.3 billion (H1) | 5.96% | 6.4% | LGT half-year 2026 |
| EFG International | CHF 5.7 billion (H1) | 5.81% | 6.2% | EFG International half-year 2026 |
| UBS Global Wealth Management | $35.5 billion (Q2) | 2.87% | 3% | UBS 2Q26 media release |
| Bank of America GWIM | $13.673 billion AUM flows (Q2) | 2.35% | Not stated | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| Julius Baer | CHF 5.7 billion (H1) | 2.08% | 2.2% | Julius Baer half-year 2026 |
Bank-reported rates run slightly higher than the Axis basis because banks divide by opening assets. Re-run on opening assets, UBS comes to 3.04%, matching its reported 3%.
The Morgan Stanley number needs a footnote of its own. The Morgan Stanley 2Q26 release says just over half of the $148 billion came from IPO-related inflows in its Workplace channel. Capping organic flows at $74.05 billion, half the total, gives an upper bound of 3.66% annualized growth, in line with UBS rather than double it.
Sarah Davis: Workplace IPO money is real money, but it arrives as employee stock that may or may not stay once lockups end. A private bank’s growth rate should be read on the flows a banker won. Strip the IPO tranche and the US leader grows at about the pace of the Swiss incumbents.
The mid-sized Swiss and Liechtenstein houses are the quiet outliers. LGT and EFG International both annualize close to 6% on the Axis basis while Julius Baer, the largest listed Swiss pure play in the table, sits at 2.08%. Vontobel’s Private Clients unit reported 4.1% growth on CHF 2.5 billion of inflows.
How Much Do Private Banks Earn on Client Assets?
Private bankers price in basis points (bps, hundredths of a percent). The revenue margin, annualized revenue divided by client assets, captures everything the bank earns on a client’s book: advisory and custody fees, trading commissions, lending spread and interest on cash.
| Franchise | Revenue margin, Axis basis (bps) | Bank-reported margin | Inputs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EFG International | 87.3 | 91 bps | CHF 856.5m operating income, H1 | EFG International half-year 2026 |
| Julius Baer | 83.2 | 87 bps | CHF 2,276m operating income, H1 | Julius Baer half-year 2026 |
| LGT | 72.2 | Not stated | CHF 1,490m operating income, H1 | LGT half-year 2026 |
| Citi Wealth | 94.1 | Not stated | $3,177m revenue, Q2, over total client balances | Citigroup 2Q26 financial supplement |
| Bank of America Private Bank | 57.9 | Not stated | $1,160m revenue, Q2 | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| UBS Global Wealth Management | 57.6 | Not stated | $7,112m revenue, Q2 | UBS 2Q26 media release |
| Bank of America GWIM | 55.7 | Not stated | $6,871m revenue, Q2 | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| Merrill Wealth Management | 55.3 | Not stated | $5,711m revenue, Q2 | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | 43.8 | Not stated | $8,856m net revenue, Q2 | Morgan Stanley 2Q26 release |
| JPMorganChase Global Private Bank | 36.9 | Not stated | $3,531m revenue, Q2 | JPMorganChase 2Q26 financial supplement |
According to Axis Intelligence Research, the spread between the highest and lowest margin among the six PWFI franchises is 43.5 basis points, a ratio of 1.99x. On a $10 million book, EFG International’s margin corresponds to $87,300 of annual bank revenue and Morgan Stanley’s to $43,800. That is what the bank books across all products on assets of that size, not a fee quote.
Two rows need care. Citi Wealth’s 94.1 bps is inflated by net interest income on Citigold retail deposits, which is why it tops the table on a balances basis. J.P. Morgan’s Global Private Bank earns the least per dollar at 36.9 bps, yet runs a 40% pretax margin and grew revenue 15.6% year on year: very large books priced thin. The Morgan Stanley figure is diluted by self-directed brokerage assets that earn little, which is why it reads low against a pure private bank. Bank of America shows the same pattern internally: its Private Bank earns 57.9 bps against Merrill’s 55.3. The 43.8 bps figure matches the Client Asset Monetization Rate on the Axis Morgan Stanley statistics page.
Sarah Davis: A 43.5-basis-point spread between the top and bottom of this table is not a pricing mistake by either side. The US platforms carry fee-based accounts and self-directed brokerage cash that earn little per dollar, and they make it up on volume. The Swiss houses earn more per franc on fewer, larger relationships. The fee is in there somewhere either way; the question is which line of the income statement it hides on.
Which Private Banks Run Most Efficiently? Cost/Income Ratios
The cost/income ratio (C/I) is operating expense divided by operating income. Lower is better, and private banking carries an expensive cost base because relationship managers are the product.
| Franchise | Cost/income ratio | Basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPMorganChase Global Private Bank | 60% | 100 minus 40% pretax margin | JPMorganChase 2Q26 financial supplement |
| JPMorganChase AWM | 61.4% | Axis calculation from expense and revenue (reported overhead ratio 61%) | JPMorganChase 2Q26 8-K |
| Julius Baer | 62.6% | Adjusted | Julius Baer half-year 2026 |
| Vontobel | 67.9% | Reported, group | Vontobel half-year 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | 69.5% | 100 minus 30.5% pre-tax margin | Morgan Stanley 2Q26 release |
| EFG International | 71.5% | Reported | EFG International half-year 2026 |
| Bank of America GWIM | 72.41% | Reported efficiency ratio | Bank of America 2Q26 supplement |
| LGT | 73.3% | Reported | LGT half-year 2026 |
| UBS Global Wealth Management | 73.6% | Reported (71.5% underlying) | UBS 2Q26 media release |
| Citi Wealth | 75% | Reported efficiency ratio (74.8% computed) | Citigroup 2Q26 financial supplement |
Julius Baer posts the best ratio of the pure private banks at 62.6%, against 71.5% at EFG International and 73.3% at LGT. UBS Global Wealth Management reports 73.6%, or 71.5% on an underlying basis that strips integration costs; its reported profit before tax was $1,883 million in the quarter, $1,997 million underlying. Bank of America reports a 72.41% efficiency ratio for GWIM. Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan’s Global Private Bank report pre-tax margins instead, so we use 100 minus the margin as a proxy, which also absorbs credit provisions.
J.P. Morgan’s Global Private Bank posts the lowest cost proxy in the table at 60%. Citi Wealth, at 75%, carries a retail branch network inside the segment. The Axis European banking statistics page covers efficiency across the broader European sector.
The Axis Private Wealth Franchise Index (PWFI): Which Private Bank Franchise Is Strongest?
Asset size measures history; it does not measure quality. The Axis Private Wealth Franchise Index (PWFI) scores a wealth franchise on the three things that decide private banking economics: whether clients bring new money, whether the bank prices that money well, and whether it serves clients at a sustainable cost. It is built entirely from figures each bank discloses, and anyone can recompute it from the dataset.
How the PWFI is calculated
PWFI = 0.40 × G + 0.35 × E + 0.25 × M, scored 0 to 100, where:
- G, growth (40%): annualized net new money over period-end assets, divided by 8% and capped at 100. An 8% organic rate scores full marks.
- E, efficiency (35%): (90 minus cost/income ratio) divided by 40, times 100, bounded 0 to 100. A 50% ratio scores 100; 90% scores 0.
- M, monetization (25%): (revenue margin in bps minus 20) divided by 80, times 100, bounded 0 to 100. A 100 bps margin scores 100; 20 bps scores 0.
The anchors are fixed rather than set by the best and worst bank in the sample, so a reading means the same thing next half-year even if the peer set changes. Growth carries the largest weight because flows are the least market-dependent signal a private bank publishes.
PWFI baseline reading, June 30, 2026
| Rank | Franchise | Growth input | C/I input | Margin input (bps) | G | E | M | PWFI | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EFG International | 5.81% | 71.5% | 87.3 | 72.6 | 46.2 | 84.1 | 66.2 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| 2 | Morgan Stanley Wealth Management | 7.33% | 69.5% | 43.8 | 91.6 | 51.2 | 29.8 | 62.0 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| 3 | LGT | 5.96% | 73.3% | 72.2 | 74.5 | 41.8 | 65.3 | 60.7 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| 4 | Julius Baer | 2.08% | 62.6% | 83.2 | 26.1 | 68.5 | 79.0 | 54.2 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| 5 | UBS Global Wealth Management | 2.87% | 73.6% | 57.6 | 35.9 | 41.0 | 47.0 | 40.5 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| 6 | Bank of America GWIM | 2.35% | 72.41% | 55.7 | 29.4 | 44.0 | 44.6 | 38.3 | Axis Intelligence Research |
| Peer average | 53.6 | Axis Intelligence Research |
This is the baseline reading of the index. According to Axis Intelligence Research, EFG International posts the strongest franchise score at 66.2, and the two largest balance sheets in the set, UBS and Bank of America, post the two lowest.
What moves the PWFI ranking
Two sensitivity checks matter. With Morgan Stanley’s net new money capped at the non-IPO half ($74.05 billion), its PWFI falls from 62.0 to 43.7, below the 53.6 peer average and into fourth place. On UBS’s underlying 71.5% cost/income ratio instead of the reported 73.6%, UBS moves from 40.5 to 42.3 and keeps its rank.
Five franchises are left out on purpose. J.P. Morgan discloses Global Private Bank revenue, margin, client assets and advisors, but reports asset flows only for all of Asset & Wealth Management, institutional clients included. Citi’s net new investment assets count dividends, interest and distributions as inflows, which is not comparable with the net new money definitions used by the other banks; on Citi’s own definition its Wealth unit would annualize 8.64%. Vontobel does not disclose Private Clients assets, so no segment margin can be computed. Pictet publishes no net new money, and DBS publishes neither a net new money figure nor a wealth-only cost base. Each exclusion is a row in the dataset.
Sarah Davis: The PWFI says something the asset league table hides. Scale buys a private bank cheap technology and a global shelf, but it has not bought the megabanks better growth or better pricing in 2026. Julius Baer is the instructive middle case: the best cost discipline of any pure play and a margin above 80 bps, held back by 2.08% growth. One more point of organic growth would add 5 points to its index reading.
How Much Money Does One Private Banker Manage?
Relationship manager (RM) book size is the operating number every private bank tracks and almost none publishes. Of the franchises in this article, only J.P. Morgan, in its financial supplement, Julius Baer, in its half-year 2026 results, and EFG International, in its 2026 half-year results presentation, disclose a banker headcount alongside client assets.
| Bank | Bankers | Client assets per banker | Annualized revenue per banker | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julius Baer | 1,247 relationship managers (FTE) | CHF 438.7 million ($542.8 million) | CHF 3.65 million | Julius Baer half-year 2026; Axis calculation |
| EFG International | 771 client relationship officers | CHF 254.6 million ($315.0 million) | CHF 2.22 million | EFG International half-year 2026; Axis calculation |
| JPMorganChase Global Private Bank | 4,119 client advisors | $928.4 million | $3.43 million | JPMorganChase 2Q26 financial supplement; Axis calculation |
According to Axis Intelligence Research, a J.P. Morgan Global Private Bank advisor manages $928.4 million, 1.71 times a Julius Baer banker and 2.95 times an EFG International banker. A Julius Baer banker generates about CHF 3.65 million of annualized revenue against CHF 2.22 million at EFG International. The banker benches are moving in opposite directions: J.P. Morgan grew its private bank advisor count 9.7% in a year, from 3,756 to 4,119, while Julius Baer’s fell by 14 in the first half. Across J.P. Morgan’s firmwide wealth platform, 10,448 client advisors average $467.2 million each.
The trade-off shows in the PWFI. Larger books mean better efficiency at Julius Baer; a hiring-led model means faster net new money at EFG International. For how advisor capacity looks across US registered investment advisers, see the Axis US wealth management statistics.
Sarah Davis: A $928.4 million book priced at 36.9 bps and a $315.0 million book priced at 87.3 bps are two answers to the same arithmetic. BCG cites research putting the limit at roughly 150 meaningful relationships per person, and Capgemini finds relationship managers spend 41% of their time on operational tasks. BCG estimates AI-first firms can unlock 25% to 30% of capacity and lift revenue per advisor 15% to 20%. Whoever converts that capacity first can carry larger books without cutting price.
Are Wealthy Clients Leaving Their Private Banks?
Not leaving, but spreading out. In the Capgemini World Wealth Report 2026, only 19% of HNWIs worked with a single wealth firm in 2025, down from 39% in 2019, and 88% use more than one firm, mainly to reach alternative investments. Capgemini estimates that about $1.5 trillion of new assets went to competitors of traditional firms, including single-family offices, WealthTechs and robo-advisers, between 2022 and 2025.
That is the context for the flows table above. A private bank’s share of wallet with an existing client is now contested every year, which is why net new money and cost/income ratios carry more information than asset totals. Private markets access is a large part of the pull; the Axis private markets statistics page sizes that universe from SEC filings, and the Great Wealth Transfer statistics page covers the inheritance wave that will reset many of these relationships.
Independent wealth managers are the competitor inside the bank’s custody
The BCG Global Wealth Report 2026 estimates that independent wealth managers (IWMs) control roughly a quarter of US high-net-worth assets and sit in the high teens in Switzerland. Their client thresholds start around $250,000 in many markets, against private banks that treat far larger clients as entry level.
| Market | IWM assets, BCG range | Estimated growth, 2022-2025 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | $1,000 to $1,100 billion | 5% a year | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026 |
| Hong Kong | $200 to $250 billion | below 2% a year | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026 |
| Singapore | $150 to $200 billion | 12% a year | BCG Global Wealth Report 2026 |
BCG notes that custodian banks and platform providers increasingly run technology, reporting and compliance for smaller IWMs, so for incumbent banks the channel is both a client and a competitor.
Sarah Davis: Multi-banking is a pricing problem dressed up as a service problem. When a client splits one portfolio across three banks, each sees a third of the relationship and quotes margin on a third of the assets. The banks with the best PWFI efficiency scores are the ones best placed to compete on price for the slice they keep.
What Would Move These Numbers Before Year-End 2026?
Third-quarter 2026 results from Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, Citi and UBS will refresh the flows, margin and cost inputs for three of the six PWFI franchises. Julius Baer, EFG International and LGT publish their next full figures with their 2026 annual results. The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s asset management survey, once its page is back online, and the 2027 editions of the BCG and Capgemini reports will reset the booking center and client-pool sections.
Methodology
Scope. This page covers private banking and wealth management at the market level (client pool, booking centers) and at the bank level (size, flows, margins, cost, banker productivity). Bank figures come from half-year 2026 reports for Swiss and Liechtenstein banks and second-quarter 2026 filings for US banks, UBS and DBS, all as of June 30, 2026. Market figures are as of December 31, 2025, the latest available editions.
Sources. Every figure was fetched from the publisher’s own release, filing or report on October 12, 2026: Capgemini, Boston Consulting Group, the Swiss Bankers Association, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, the Federal Reserve Board (exchange rates), SEC EDGAR filings and the investor relations releases and financial supplements of UBS, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, JPMorganChase, Citigroup, Julius Baer, EFG International, LGT, Vontobel, Pictet and DBS. BCG booking-center figures come from Exhibit 2 of the full report PDF. No figure comes from a ranking publisher, aggregator or memory.
Uniform basis. Flow growth = period net new money × (4 for a quarter, 2 for a half-year) ÷ period-end assets. Revenue margin = period revenue × the same multiplier ÷ period-end assets × 10,000. Bank of America’s flow growth uses AUM flows over AUM; its margin uses total client balances. Bank of America’s efficiency input is its reported GWIM efficiency ratio; Morgan Stanley’s and J.P. Morgan Global Private Bank’s use 100 minus pre-tax margin because neither reports a segment cost/income ratio. Citi Wealth’s margin is computed over total client balances, which include deposits and loans. Banks’ own reported rates are shown beside the Axis figures where they exist.
Currency. Swiss franc and Singapore dollar values are converted at Federal Reserve H.10 rates for June 30, 2026. Hong Kong figures use the SFC’s own US dollar conversion.
PWFI. Formula, anchors and weights are given in the index section and repeated in the dataset’s method notes. The anchors are fixed so readings remain comparable over time; any future change to components or weights will be announced with a re-based series.
Scope notes. Banks define client assets differently (invested assets, client balances, AuM, assets under management or custody), so the size table is a comparison of reported measures, not a like-for-like market share. Capgemini figures are survey and model based; BCG booking center values are BCG estimates. Where two sources measure different perimeters, as with Hong Kong, we publish them side by side and decline to combine them.
About This Dataset
The full fact table behind this page, 314 rows covering every figure, every Axis calculation, all PWFI components and readings, the declined calculations and the source discrepancy, is available as private-banking-statistics-2026.csv. Each row carries the value, unit, as-of date, source organization, document, URL, retrieval date and a method note for calculated figures.
- License: CC BY 4.0. Reuse is free with attribution to Axis Intelligence Research.
- Mirrors: Hugging Face, Kaggle and GitHub under the same file name.
- Updates: relevance-driven. The dataset changes when a PWFI franchise reports new figures or a source publishes a new edition, never for a date bump.
- Citation line: Axis Intelligence Research, Private Banking Statistics 2026, 2026.
Cite This Page
APA: Axis Intelligence Research, & Davis, S. (2026, October 12). Private banking statistics 2026: Booking centers, the largest private banks and the Private Wealth Franchise Index. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/private-banking-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research, and Sarah Davis. “Private Banking Statistics 2026: Booking Centers, the Largest Private Banks and the Private Wealth Franchise Index.” Axis Intelligence, 12 Oct. 2026, axis-intelligence.com/private-banking-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research, and Sarah Davis. “Private Banking Statistics 2026: Booking Centers, the Largest Private Banks and the Private Wealth Franchise Index.” Axis Intelligence, October 12, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/private-banking-statistics/.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has Hong Kong overtaken Switzerland as the world’s largest private banking center?
In BCG’s 2025 data they are tied, with $2.9 trillion of cross-border wealth each, and BCG ranks Hong Kong first. Hong Kong grew faster, 10.7% against 7.6%, and BCG projects $4.6 trillion for Hong Kong against $4.0 trillion for Switzerland by 2030.
How big is Singapore as a private banking center?
Singapore is the third-largest booking center, with $2.1 trillion of cross-border wealth in 2025, up 10.3%, according to BCG. BCG projects about 9% annual growth to $3.3 trillion by 2030, the same pace as Hong Kong.
How much revenue does a private bank make on a $10 million portfolio?
At the margins reported for June 2026, between about $43,800 and $87,300 a year, according to Axis Intelligence Research. The low end reflects Morgan Stanley Wealth Management’s 43.8 bps; the high end EFG International’s 87.3 bps. The figure covers fees, trading and lending income combined.
How much in client assets does one private banker manage?
At Julius Baer, each of 1,247 relationship managers carries CHF 438.7 million of client assets on average; at EFG International, each of 771 client relationship officers carries CHF 254.6 million. At J.P. Morgan’s Global Private Bank, each of 4,119 client advisors carries $928.4 million, according to Axis Intelligence Research. Most other large private banks do not disclose banker headcount.
What is a good cost/income ratio for a private bank?
Among the franchises tracked here, reported ratios range from 62.6% at Julius Baer to 73.6% at UBS Global Wealth Management in the first half of 2026. In the PWFI, a 50% ratio earns full efficiency marks and 90% earns none.
What share of Swiss bank assets belongs to foreign clients?
Foreign-domiciled clients held 45.9% of assets under management at banks in Switzerland in 2025, down from 49.3% in 2015, according to the Swiss Bankers Association. Cross-border wealth management totaled CHF 2,945.7 billion.
Why did Morgan Stanley report $148 billion of net new assets in one quarter?
Morgan Stanley says just over half of its second-quarter 2026 net new assets came from IPO-related inflows in its Workplace channel. Excluding that tranche, organic growth is at most 3.66% annualized, according to Axis Intelligence Research.
Do wealthy clients use more than one private bank?
Most do. Capgemini reports that 88% of HNWIs work with multiple wealth firms and only 19% used a single firm in 2025, down from 39% in 2019.
What is the Private Wealth Franchise Index (PWFI)?
The PWFI is an Axis Intelligence Research score from 0 to 100 that rates wealth franchises on net new money growth (40%), cost efficiency (35%) and revenue margin (25%), using published bank figures. The June 30, 2026 baseline averages 53.6 across six franchises, led by EFG International at 66.2.