Although Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as number one in cross-border wealth management, rather than going into panic mode, Swiss banks appear unfazed – feeling it strengthens the case against tougher banking regulations.
Hong Kong is now the world’s largest cross-border booking hub thanks to inflows from mainland China, strong initial public offering activity and stock market gains, said a study published last week by Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
Hong Kong had $2.95 trillion of cross-border assets under management in 2025, while Switzerland had $2.946 trillion.
Rapid advances in the technology innovation and artificial intelligence sectors “are expected to open up greater scope for development within Hong Kong’s wealth and asset management industry,” said the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan.
More than 60 percent of foreign capital comes from mainland China, BCG’s Global Wealth Report 2026 said, adding that Hong Kong is “cementing its role as China’s gateway to global markets.”
“Uncertainties about US-China tensions are the main reason they are moving capital and managing wealth to Hong Kong,” Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, told AFP.
However, China’s market regulator announced a sweeping investigation in May against some middlemen who run cross-border trade, as it began a two-year crackdown on investment leaving the mainland.
On Monday, China’s cabinet unveiled new rules to take effect in July aimed at curbing overseas investment and deals with foreign entities that can transfer restricted technology, services and data overseas without authorization.
“Investors engaging in foreign investment and similar activities … should not endanger China’s national security or harm national interests,” the authorities said.
Ng noted that if Beijing “really wants to accelerate” the internationalization of China’s yuan currency, “it will have to accept freer cross-border capital movement.”
Tougher Swiss regulations are planned
The Swiss Bankers’ Association told AFP that Hong Kong had benefited directly from China’s exceptionally strong asset growth.
But he said Swiss banks also had a successful presence in key Asian growth markets.
“For Switzerland, the terms of the competitive framework are particularly crucial for the future. It is essential that regulation remains internationally targeted and coordinated in order to strengthen stability and competitiveness,” he said.
Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS is currently at loggerheads with the government, which wants to tighten banking regulations after the Credit Suisse implosion in 2023.
UBS was armed in a swift takeover of its closest domestic rival to prevent a major blow to Switzerland’s financial stability.
Bern now wants stronger protections, given the size of the merged megabank relative to the Swiss economy.
Switzerland’s overtaking by Hong Kong “shows that international competition must remain at the center of discussions,” the Association of Swiss Private Banks, which represents wealth management firms, told AFP.
During the debates on the government’s proposals, “parliament should take this into account”, he added.
‘Playing half the game’
Andreas Venditti, an analyst with Swiss investment managers Vontobel, said Hong Kong’s rise to the top had come because growth rates were stronger in Asia.
“Since Swiss banks are among the largest wealth managers in Asia – with UBS the largest in the region by far – they clearly benefit from higher growth rates,” he told AFP.
UBS’s assets under management in the Asia-Pacific region totaled $781 billion at the end of March, he noted.
Cross-border wealth grew by 10.7 percent in Hong Kong in 2025, compared with 7.6 percent in Switzerland, BCG said.
Dean Frankle, a managing director and financial institutions specialist at BCG, said Hong Kong’s overtaking of Switzerland is largely due to “the rise of Asia”.
For wealthy Asian clients, “why would you go to Europe” when Hong Kong is “on your doorstep”, he said, hence the importance of Swiss banks being competitive in the Asian market.
“If you’re not serving both markets, you’re only playing half the game,” he told AFP.
