HONG KONG (March 26): UBS plans to increase assets sourced from clients in Asia with wealth and asset management sustaining its growth model, chief executive Sergio Ermotti said on Tuesday.

Assets sourced from the region would be up to 20% in five-six years, from around 15%, according to Ermotti who spoke at the Milken Institute Global Investors' Symposium held in Hong Kong.

The Swiss banking giant currently manages US$5.2 trillion (RM24.5 trillion) assets globally.

"Wealth management and asset management in general are two industries that are likely to continue to grow because of the needs of people to save and invest for retirement, for planning.

"So wealth creation is a secular trend that sustains our business model," he added.

The bank's wealth operation, the largest in Asia according to its annual report, aims to hit a US$5 trillion globally assets target by 2028 from US$3.8 trillion from end-2023.

The integration of UBS and Credit Suisse is going to offer an ability to capture a greater share in many businesses and geographic areas where the Swiss bank operates, he added.

The comment was made just one year after UBS, in a rescue mission, moved to merge its embattled cross-town rival Credit Suisse, which broadened the bank's reach while resulting in consolidation and job cuts around the globe.

The merger allows UBS to secure an "expanded presence in North America and Asia" in asset management business, the bank said in its latest annual report, through which it ran US$1.6 trillion assets by end of last year.