Study

Hong Kong Overtakes Switzerland as the Global Wealth Hub

co-produced by AI29. October 2026, 07:00

Hong Kong skyline across Victoria Harbour in golden hour light — The Hong Kong skyline across Victoria Harbour. Image: Manson / Unsplash

Switzerland has to hand over its crown: Hong Kong now manages more cross-border wealth than the Alpine republic, at a time when the fortunes of the rich are breaking records but the banks earn less and less from them.

That is the finding of the study “Too Rich, Too Thin? Richer Clients, Thinner Margins” by the London investment bank Anglo-Suisse Capital, which has just been published. According to the study, cross-border wealth in Hong Kong stood at $2.95 trillion (about €2.5 trillion) in 2025, narrowly ahead of Switzerland’s $2.94 trillion. Anglo-Suisse expects Hong Kong’s lead to widen in 2026. Overall wealth held by high-net-worth individuals reached a record $98.3 trillion (about €85 trillion) in 2025. At the same time, the revenue margin of European private banks fell from 76 to 73 basis points.

Why Hong Kong Is Catching Up

The rise is largely a China story. According to the Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) 2026 Global Wealth Report, offshore assets booked in Hong Kong grew 10.7 percent in 2025 to about $2.9 trillion. Bloomberg reports that the drivers are an inflow of capital from mainland China and a recovering local stock market, along with a revived market for initial public offerings in the city. China’s industrial strength is also creating new fortunes across Asia, and Hong Kong pitches wealthy clients on low taxes, a deep talent pool and its capital markets. The number of single-family offices rose 25 percent between 2023 and the end of 2025, to 3,384. While Hong Kong and Singapore mostly manage Asian money, Switzerland, the United States and Britain remain the main destinations for wealth from Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. BCG expects the gap between Hong Kong and Switzerland to grow to nearly $600 billion (about €515 billion) by 2030. That is a forecast, and the family office figures come from a survey commissioned by the Hong Kong government.

Clients Spread Their Money Across More Firms

Client loyalty is eroding: Only 19 percent of wealthy clients used a single wealth management firm in 2025, down from 39 percent in 2019. The study expects the share to stay below one in five, and for banks to buy clients rather than win them.

The study draws on industry research, regulators’ data, company filings and its own census of 270 private banks in nine booking centers. From that, Anglo-Suisse derives further findings and predictions:

Fewer, bigger banks: KPMG counted 79 Swiss private banks in 2026, down from 156 in 2010. Anglo-Suisse expects fewer than 75 by the end of 2027. According to KPMG, 32 banks have cost-income ratios of 80 percent or more, and 18 of them are above 90 percent.
Falling margins: The study expects further declines. The winners, it says, will be those that cut costs and use A.I. to free up advisers’ time.
Crypto is largely missing: Of the 270 banks, public information shows only 19 offering clients direct access to crypto, ten of them through a partner. In the United States, which is not part of the census, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab and PNC already let clients buy and hold tokens.
Private markets only in part: Fifty of the 270 banks offer direct deals or co-investments, and another 122 offer funds only.

The Predictions

Anglo-Suisse makes five predictions that it plans to grade in its 2027 edition, “right or wrong.” On crypto, the study expects partnerships to remain the main route and more crypto firms to buy licensed banks than the other way around. At least one more large private bank is expected to offer direct token access by the end of 2027. The convergence of crypto and banking is also visible at Ripple, which recently won a U.S. charter for a national trust bank.

The study also paints a mixed picture on A.I.: Bank of Singapore cut the time to write a source-of-wealth report from ten days to one hour, yet 76 percent of Swiss private banks expect A.I. to bring no or only minor cost savings in the coming year, according to the data cited.

“Private clients have never been richer, yet they spread their money across more firms, and banks earn less on it,” said Charles Hancock, chief executive of Anglo-Suisse Capital. Crypto matters for winning new clients and keeping existing ones, he said, but most banks are not prepared. Every board faces the same question: Do we want to be a buyer, a seller or a partner?

Limits of the Census

Anglo-Suisse itself points out that its census only draws on publicly available information and does not cover the United States. The absence of a publicly documented offering does not necessarily mean a bank does not provide it privately. It is also worth noting that Anglo-Suisse advises on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising, so it can benefit commercially from the consolidation theme. The study also includes decision tools for boards, including a rent, buy or build template for crypto and a checklist on whether to buy, sell or stay independent.

Record Profits at the Big Names

How the industry fares differs from house to house. Julius Baer, for example, reported a record profit of 673 million Swiss francs for the first half of 2026, up 128 percent. Assets under management rose to a record 547 billion francs, the gross margin stood at 87 basis points, up from 83 a year earlier, and the cost-income ratio edged down to 62.6 percent. The report cites market performance, currency effects and strong client activity as drivers.

Beyond the banks, new competition is entering the market. Fintechs like Revolut want to open access to private start-ups for retail investors, a field that used to be reserved for private banks and family offices.