Rethinking “universal” banking
UBS is abandoning its “universal banking” model, says Barbara Kiviat in Time.com, which is the kind of rethinking that comes after “$40 billion in client money get yanked in a single quarter.” But the all-in-one banking model is losing favor across the board, with Citigroup shareholders pushing for a breakup and HBSC and Barclays feeling the need to “very loudly defend their own universal-bank models.” Why the shift? Having retail banking and investment banking, wealth management, and mortgage lending under one roof looks good on paper—diversification should steady banks “in times of tumult”—but it mostly seems to “add complexity and confound risk management to the point of some very bad things happening.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.