Credit Suisse’s wealth management unit saw more than $200 billion of assets under management erased in 2022. finews.com takes a closer look at the plunge.

At the end of 2022, assets under management (AUM) at Credit Suisse's wealth management unit totaled 540 billion Swiss francs, according to the bank’s annual results.

This marks a 27 percent plunge, a whopping 203 billion francs ($220 billion) decrease, from the 743 billion francs the unit had under management in 2021.

October Outflows

In addition to adverse market conditions, the bank was significantly impacted by asset outflows which totaled 95.7 billion francs in 2022, including 92.7 billion francs in the fourth quarter.

October alone accounted for around two-thirds of the net asset outflows for the fourth quarter with about 60 percent driven by deposit outflows.

In 2021, the bank’s wealth unit posted 10.5 billion francs of net inflows.

Asia Focus

Although Credit Suisse did not provide specific breakdowns on the geographical source of the AUM decrease, signs are pointing to Asia as a contributor, especially amongst ultra-wealthy clients.

The Swiss lender's APAC financing group (AFG), a key unit for the delivery of its one-bank model, registered an annual mark-to-market loss of 121 million francs, including 31 million francs in the fourth quarter, indicating potential deleveraging or de-risking.