Banks and other financial institutions sponsor sports and encourage clients and employees to get involved for a number of reasons.

UBS has just broadcast its sports sponsorship and philanthropy efforts – putting it alongside other wealth management groups doing similar initiatives.

This week, the Swiss bank hosted the UBS Golf Challenge 2025: Sergio García’s Swing Spectacular, at Singapore’s Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC). UBS guests and young golfers from TMCC watched and learnt golf techniques from Spanish golf star Sergio García.

The player, who is a brand ambassador for UBS, has more than 40 professional victories under his belt. 

Golfers aged 11 to 16 from TMCC working with García at a golf clinic on chipping techniques, enjoyed a game of golf together, and engaged in a one-on-one photo taking session where they snapped photo mementos with the golf star.

(Picture: Patricia Quek, Head UBS Wealth Management Singapore (first from the left), and Sergio García, UBS Golf Ambassador (fifth from the left) in a photo with the young golfers from Tanah Merah Country Club.)

“At UBS, banking is our craft, and we are proud to share with Sergio García the same values of dedication and precision, while making a meaningful impact in the community,” Patricia Quek, head UBS Wealth Management Singapore, said. “At the UBS Golf Challenge 2025 in Singapore, UBS had the opportunity to connect the communities we serve by creating a platform for aspiring young golfers to engage with world-class golf professionals like Sergio García.”

Garcia said: “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to meet with Singapore’s next generation of golfers and share the invaluable lessons I've learned both on the golf course and in life. Like the meticulous and skilled approach required in golf, success in any field is shaped through consistent effort, learning, and unwavering commitment. By embodying these principles, I hope to inspire young golfers in Singapore to pursue their dreams with passion and determination.”

Banks and other financial institutions sponsor sports and encourage clients and employees to become involved for a number of reasons: brand awareness, team building and marketing. In the case of golf, it has an aspirational image which aligns with wealth management. Top 100 professional golfer Graeme McDowall is a brand ambassador for Mastercard. Other Mastercard brand ambassadors include Brandt Snedeker and Brooke Henderson. Sponsorship can anchor loyalty and create a certain international connection, which subliminally can impress clients. Standard Chartered sponsors Liverpool FC, in part because the UK-listed bank earns so much revenue in Asia-Pacific, a region that has fallen in love with the English Premier League. 

The “brand value” of sponsorship is difficult to measure, but some of the sums involved suggest that firms clearly think it’s worth it. According to a 2023 report from GlobalData, there are 1,385 deals between sports rights' holders and the financial services (FS)-payment sector, with these deals estimated as having an annual worth of about $2.5 billion. (The FS classification doesn’t necessarily include private banking, so the size is undoubtedly larger.) FS firms and brands identified in the report include MasterCard; Visa; PNC Financial Services; Caixa Bank; Bank of America; American Express; HSBC; Santander; Credit Agricole; and Citigroup. 

In the arts field, Deutsche Bank, for instance, has sponsored the Frieze events as global lead partner for more than two decades, including art fairs such as Frieze London, Frieze New York and Frieze Los Angeles. Other wealth managers have supported art exhibitions, for instance RBC Wealth Management, Credit Suisse, Société Générale, BNY Mellon, and UBS. This also support banks’ advice to high net worth individuals wanting to invest in and collect fine art.

Lee Seunghan, a 12-year-old golfer who recently secured first place at the 2024 SGA-BFG Grand Final Championship, said of the bank’s event: "I had fun today and it was great to see Sergio García, an amazing golfer, in person! I learned so much from him, and it was inspiring to see his dedication to the game.”

Guests also participated in a Drive for Good Charity Challenge held in commemoration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence and in celebration of UBS Optimus Foundation’s 25th Anniversary. (See a related article from August 2024 about its work.) Together with clients, employees and partners, UBS Optimus Foundation has raised over $1.5 billion in donations over the last 10 years. In Southeast Asia alone, UBS Optimus Foundation supports more than 50 programmes targeted at addressing issues such as health, education and climate.