Client Affairs

Latest News for Client Affairs

• September 5, 2010 - Citibank Japan Tops Nikkei Client Service Rankings
  

  Citibank Japan has topped this year's Retail Banking Survey by Nikkei and Nikkei Research, which rates the performances of Japan's 118 banks. The survey covered responses of undercover customers visiting the banks' main branches from June to July 2010.

• September 5, 2010 - BTA Bank Cuts Debt With Restructure
  

  Kazakhstan's BTA Bank has completed its restructuring efforts after defaulting last year on billions of dollars worth of foreign debt. BTA Bank had borrowed from overseas financial institutions at low interest rates a few years ago then lent these in Kazakhstan for higher rates, as was the practice among banks in the country.

• September 3, 2010 - Morgan Stanley Beefs Up Australian Wealth Unit With New Hires
  

  Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has named three senior financial advisors to its Australian wealth management division. Mark O'Sullivan, James Gosnell, and Chris Watson have joined the company's Sydney office as advisors.

• September 3, 2010 - Equity Trust Hires Private Client Specialist For Hong Kong Branch
  

  Private client specialist Karen Choy has joined the Hong Kong office of Equity Trust as its new head of trustee services. Choy has extensive experience in the financial services industry, with a particular focus on wealth management solutions for high net worth clients.

• September 3, 2010 - Withers Enters Consultancy Deal With Chinese HNW Advisor
  

  International law firm Withers has entered into a consultancy agreement with BeA-asia as it seeks to explore China's rising high net worth community. The deal follows on the law firm's decision to set up an office in Hong Kong in 2008 and is in line with plans to gain a better business presence in Greater China.

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Latest Features for Client Affairs

• April 20, 2010 - Australia Braces For Record Amount Of Housing Asset Switch Across Generations
  

  An unprecedented A$407 billion (around $374 billion) in housing assets will change hands between in Australia over the next 15 years as younger generations inherit property from their parents. According to a research study by Bankwest, the projected inherited housing wealth over the next 15 years amounts to around 12 per cent of the value of total Australian households housing assets of A$3. 5 trillion.

• September 8, 2009 - DIY Australian Investors Move Out Of Wealth Managers' Reach
  

  Many private banking operations in Australia use a threshold of A$1 million (around $850,000) in investable assets as one of the criteria for a key market segment. Unfortunately for the industry, a large slice of this market may be out of their reach as high net worth individuals choose to manage their funds themselves, in a pensions system actively pushed by government and regulators. Australia’s mandatory pensions savings scheme, known locally as superannuation, is world-leading, and 15 years after its inception, Australians have a collective A$1 trillion or so squirrelled away for their retirement.

• December 2, 2008 - Never Mind Market Tumbles - There's All To Play For In Indian Wealth Sector
  

  After a remarkable boom period where favoured Indian asset classes rose tremendously, the past year has seen serious market corrections. However, analysts remain confident that this is a temporary blip and values will quickly recover.     Indian equities are perhaps the single most important asset class that have fuelled wealth creation in the country.

• November 7, 2002 - Taxing times for Australia's ultra wealthy
  

  Twenty-four of Australia's richest individuals were slugged an extra A$918m in taxes last financial year — an average of $38m each — following a crackdown on tax avoidance among ultra-high net-worth individuals. Tax commissioner Michael Carmody, launching his annual report for 2001-02, said the sum included $451m in penalties for fraud and evasion. He said the Australian Tax Office was focusing on the use of offshore tax havens to hide income, as well as capital gains tax avoidance and intellectual property arrangements.

• November 20, 2001 - Why Australians invest offshore: it comes down to the rate of return
  

  There are investment advantages alongside the tax implications for Australian investors who take out investment bonds and savings plans in jurisdictions outside their home country, particularly when they are non-resident for tax purposes in Australia. Taxation in Australia There are three main federal taxes in Australia: income tax, fringe benefit tax and capital gains tax. Each state in Australia also has its own taxation system, so state taxes may also be applicable; for example, in New South Wales, land tax may need to be paid.

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