Offshore wealth in Singapore reaches a whopping US$1trn

You'll never guess which region increased its offshore wealth in Singapore by more than 50% to US$140bn in 2011.

Citing Boston Consulting Group estimates, Barclays Research notes that offshore wealth in Hong Kong and Singapore combined reached US$1trn in 2011 (up ~10% y/y) while global offshore wealth was flat y/y.

Here's more from Barclays:

Interestingly, the most impressive rise in offshore wealth booked in Hong Kong and Singapore originated from Europe (US$140bn, up 50%+ y/y) and the Middle East (US$60bn, up 200%-plus y/y). Switzerland remains the largest offshore wealth centre inthe world with US$2.1trn, but growth was stagnant in 2011, according to BCG.

We believe Singapore banks are well positioned to tap the growth opportunity in wealth management, which should improve their funding franchises and drive revenue growth. Recent findings by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) support our view that Singapore is benefiting from rising private wealth in Asia as well as inflows from the rest of the world. 

Singapore banks winning wealth market share: Singapore banks’ revenue and deposit franchises are benefiting from rising domestic wealth and foreign fund inflows. Growth in assets under management (AUM) in 2011 for the three Singapore banks outpaced BCG’s estimates for private wealth growth in Asia (10.7%) and globally (1.8%). BCG forecasts this trend to continue for the next five years with private wealth in Asia ex-Japan rising at a CAGR of 11% vs. 4% globally. In 2011, private wealth in North America, Western Europe and Japan shrank, according to BCG.