Urs Brutsch of Hoffmann & Partners Wealth Management talks about the inevitable changes in the style of offshore private banking, but reveals why there is still so much potential for hubs such as Hong Kong and Singapore to flourish.

Chris Van Aeken of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management discusses the many operational and regulatory hurdles that wealth management institutions now face in Asia.

William Ahern of Family Capital Conservation discusses the impact of the many – and at times sweeping – post-crisis agreements on cross-border exchanges of tax information relating to wealthy individuals.

Nobody doubts that a more robust and effective suitability and disclosure regime in Hong Kong would have helped structured products issuers and distributors avoid many of the problems they have faced over the last two years. But there are aspects of the new regulations designed to address the shortcomings and protect the investing public which might not be in the best interests of the people they are intended to benefit.

The UBS and LGT tax scandals since 2008 have opened a door to a significant shift in advice on tax matters generally, especially in relation to US private clients.

If you take the last few months of enforcement action as an indicator of things to come, financial institutions and practitioners in Hong Kong need to make sure they don’t step out of line.

Edmund Leow of Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow highlights the regulatory challenges for wealth management firms amid the focus on bank secrecy and tax evasion as part of the quest for global transparency.

Edmund Leow of Baker & McKenzie.Wong & Leow explains some of the main implications of recent moves towards governments sharing more tax information about wealthy individuals.

Marcus Leese of Ogier discusses how private clients and their advisers should respond to the crackdown on tax avoidance by thorough planning and being compliant.

Marcus Leese of Ogier explains how financial institutions in Asia can deal with the increasing scrutiny they will face on tax non-compliance of their clients as the focus of regulators’ attention shifts East.

Brendan Harper of Friends Provident International looks at developments in tax transparency and information exchange agreements globally, including what this means for individuals.

Brendan Harper of Friends Provident International explains recent developments in tax agreements between Hong Kong and the UK, and looks at the implications for individuals.

Alex Jagmetti of Falcon Private Bank addresses areas of misunderstanding in relation to offshore banking, and looks at some of the considerations for clients in terms of repatriating funds.

Mark Jansen of PricewaterhouseCoopers explains the main details and implications for both financial institutions and customers of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) enacted in the US.

Mark Jansen of PricewaterhouseCoopers looks at the issues for financial institutions – and customers – of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and considers what preparation is necessary now.

Michael Brevetta of PricewaterhouseCoopers looks at the details and requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and also explains the penalties for non-compliance.

Private banks in Hong Kong face what to some insiders appear to be significant challenges as a result of the mounting compliance burden across their businesses.

Private banks in Hong Kong face resourcing and logistical issues in trying to meet growing suitability requirements and processes.

The private banking industry in Hong Kong is hampered by the lack of communication between institutions in uniting with one voice to enter into proactive dialogue with the regulators.

Despite efforts by the authorities to position Hong Kong as a regional financial centre, its competitiveness as a private banking hub is under debate.

A straw poll of the senior management, compliance and risk chiefs, and product gatekeepers at 20 leading international and local private banks has highlighted key insights about the views of these individuals, as well as their organisation’s preparedness, in relation to the many regulatory and compliance requirements in Hong Kong.

Capital markets intermediaries can now outsource their back-office functions to service providers, according to revised guidelines by the Securities Commission Malaysia.

Following recent allegations of bribery, the Indonesian Constitutional Court has announced new measures to achieve greater transparency and ward-off corruption, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has reprimanded AAM Advisory and Andrew Gordon McKay for contravening the Financial Advisers Act by providing financial advice without proper licences.

The Securities and Futures Commission suspended three brokerage licences after finding irregularities in the conduct of a client’s discretionary account.

The Securities and Futures Commission has issued a reprimand to a locally-licensed securities dealer for a number of internal control deficiencies.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has welcomed new offshore renminbi (RMB) measures to support the development of Hong Kong as the offshore RMB business centre.

With record-high gold prices sparking considerable interest in gold investing, along with aggressive marketing and advertising of gold investments, some of them may be frauds, warned the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the US.

Under a long-awaited tax agreement between the UK and Switzerland – expected to enter force in January 2013 – all UK residents with Swiss accounts will need to reveal their holdings to the UK tax authorities, or suffer an annual withholding charge.