Assets are experiencing significant growth.
After what can be described as a challenging year for US regional banks, with the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, and Signature Bank in early 2023, profitability growth has returned to many of the sector banks that survived that dark period.
Buoyed by an improving monetary environment, increased deal-making activity, and a better-than-expected business climate due to the resilient U.S. economy, this year’s winners demonstrated the importance of regional banking to the well-being of the U.S. economy. They also regained significant market share from giant global banks, posting massive assets under management (AUM) and client growth.
Looking ahead to 2025, when interest rates are expected to continue to fall, these banks now face the challenge of expanding their offerings, and further strengthening their position as a one-stop shop for affluent clients looking for the perfect combination of specialist local knowledge and global standing. .
Midwest Atlantic: Fifth Third Private Bank
Despite having more than 160 years of local knowledge in the two major highly industrialized regions of the United States, Fifth Third Private Bank’s secret to staying at the top is a complex combination of innovative offerings, strategic technology use, and undisputed regional positioning.
Customers are increasingly looking for better and more personalized offers. Fifth Third has focused on improving client satisfaction and retention without losing sight of their historic tried-and-true approach to wealth management, by fostering a problem-solving culture that includes human interactions, software improvements, and investment strategy building.
Fifth Third Private’s solution, called One Bank, combines its expertise and resources to offer clients seamless wealth management solutions. This approach provides coordinated services, including private banking, wealth planning, credit and estate planning, insurance, and investment management.
The success of the show is also evident in the numbers. The bank achieved impressive revenue growth, with profits rising to $608.7 million in 2023, up from $516.6 million in 2022. Its assets under management reached $36.5 billion in 2023, up from $32.2 billion in 2022.
The bank’s strong fee income, totaling $274.2 million, was a key growth driver. During that period, Wealth Strategy shares increased by 17%.
Northeast: BNY Wealth
BNY Wealth, America’s oldest private bank, has outperformed by maintaining a significant advantage in combining market knowledge with the latest technology. The bank offers innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of high net worth clients in the Northeast’s fast-paced financial landscape.
BNY has recorded significant growth by offering centralized reporting, allowing clients to seamlessly monitor and manage their portfolios, and offering diverse investment solutions including fixed income, equities and multi-sector strategies.
As of the third quarter of 2024, the Bank of New York reported assets under management of $2.1 trillion, reflecting a 5% increase from the previous quarter. Furthermore, assets under custody and management increased by 14%, demonstrating the bank’s ability to attract new business and take advantage of favorable market conditions.
Southeast: Fieldpoint Private
Fieldpoint Private stands out as the leading private bank in the US Southeast region for 2025. This is primarily due to the bank’s strong financial performance, supported by its best-in-class integration of wealth planning, personal banking and personalized financial services.
The bank’s strategy ensures that clients’ financial strategies are in line with their values and family heritage. Fieldpoint provides expert guidance on estate and tax planning, charitable initiatives, and asset protection, thus tapping into the growing demand for more personalized services par excellence.
As part of its overall strategy, Fieldpoint Private not only provides strategic financial advice but also offers seamless personal banking services. Clients enjoy a range of services, including online and mobile banking, credit facilities, international currencies, and high levels of FDIC insurance – exceeding $50 million per tax ID. Thus, Fieldpoint serves large depositors efficiently and respects their time.
The success of these strategies is evidenced by the growth of the bank’s assets to approximately US$1.4 billion as of mid-2024, confirming its undisputed leadership in the region.
Southwest: PNC Private Bank
PNC Private Bank excels by combining a comprehensive service model, featuring teams dedicated to each market, with a comprehensive digital solution, providing best-in-class services to the highly diverse U.S. Southwest region.
The bank’s flagship Hawthorn division helps PNC Private capitalize on the incredible momentum of family offices in the United States. This division provides advanced digital solutions to simplify customer account management, and meet the growing, complex and individual needs of these affluent families. These solutions aim to simplify and coordinate complex financial tasks such as trust and estate management, cash and credit management, and investment strategies, in one specialized digital platform.
Demonstrating the success of the strategy, PNC Private had an impressive $404 billion in assets under management as of mid-2024, with $416 billion in deposits.
West: Wells Fargo
Under the leadership of Wealth and Investment Management President Barry Somers, Wells Fargo has made significant strides in revitalizing its Wealth Management division by investing nearly $1 billion to enhance its offerings and technology infrastructure. This renewed focus supports Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf’s ambition to expand services to affluent clients, overcoming previous hurdles.
Key to Wells Fargo’s strategy is the strong growth of its independent advisor platform, FiNet, which now has more than 1,600 advisors. Combined with traditional wire and branch offerings, this platform provides a variety of options for clients and advisors. Wells Fargo sets itself apart by offering a sophisticated independent advisor option, a feature uncommon among its competitors.
In addition to these structural developments, the bank has streamlined customer interactions through digital improvements, such as digital account processes. This comprehensive approach has contributed to increasing assets under management by 18% to reach $2.3 trillion by the third quarter of 2024.
