The numbers in this year’s Relationship Manager Compensation Report 2025 reveal more than who pays the highest salaries, whether Hong Kong still leads Singapore, or what drives RMs to move between institutions. They also offer clues about where Asia’s private banking industry is heading.
Here are my two cents on what they tell us.
Private banking is changing, and so is what it takes to be a successful private banker.
Take book sizes. Average books have fallen across all bank types, according to the report. That may sound like a negative, but it reflects how the industry is evolving. More banks are targeting the broader high-net-worth market instead of focusing solely on ultra-wealthy clients.
Book of business by bank type (USD millions)
As a result, RMs are looking after more clients, but with smaller average portfolios.
Success may increasingly depend less on overseeing one outsized book and more on building trusted relationships across a broader client base.
The survey also suggests that banks are no longer competing on salary alone. Reputation, investment capabilities and product strength continue to rank highly when bankers consider a move. That is hardly surprising.
Pull factors in moving to a new institution
As client needs become more complex, RMs increasingly rely on the strength of the platform behind them. Whether it is private markets, lending, family office services or cross-border advice, clients now expect solutions that no individual banker can deliver alone.
Increasingly, the platform may be becoming the differentiator rather than the banker alone. In the next phase of private banking, will clients choose the banker or the platform behind the banker?
The salary gap between Hong Kong and Singapore tells another story. Hong Kong continues to command higher compensation, especially among senior bankers and market heads. Higher pay is ultimately a reflection of where banks are placing their biggest bets.
The city’s close links with China’s growing wealth market, combined with its role in larger and more complex capital markets transactions, help explain why experienced bankers continue to attract a premium.
Banks are willing to pay a premium for talent in markets where they see future growth potential, as our report highlights.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that private banking remains one of the more resilient careers in financial services. While investment banking has faced weaker deal activity and asset management continues to grapple with fee pressure and consolidation, private banking has remained supported by Asia’s growing wealth pool and continued demand for experienced RMs.
The biggest books may no longer define the best bankers. Increasingly, success will belong to those who can combine trusted client relationships with the full capabilities of their institution, bringing together expertise across investments, alternatives, lending and wealth planning.
Agree or disagree?
And speaking of successful RMs, look out for the next chapter of our Powerlist publication in the coming months as we expand our coverage to another important wealth market in Asia.
Base yearly salary gap between Hong Kong and Singapore, percentage difference
What began as a showcase of top private bankers in Hong Kong and later Singapore is now growing into a regional series, with Thailand and Taiwan among the markets we will feature next.
The Powerlist serves as an annual benchmark across Asia, revisiting each market regularly to recognise leading private bankers and capture how the region’s wealth talent landscape evolves over time.