Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as top cross-border wealth hub

Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub, a symbolic reset in private banking power that underscores how much global money is being pulled toward Chinese capital markets and Asian financial centers. Boston Consulting Group said Hong Kong booked about $2.9 trillion in cross-border wealth in 2025, just ahead of Switzerland’s $2.94 trillion, and said the gap is likely to widen over the next several years.

BCG’s Global Wealth Report 2026, released on May 27, 2026, showed global financial wealth rising 10.7% in 2025 to $333 trillion, while cross-border wealth climbed to $15.7 trillion. The concentration of that money remained striking: the top ten booking centres accounted for more than 90% of new flows, leaving the business highly concentrated even as the map of winners shifts. Hong Kong and Singapore are now emerging as the dominant Asian pair, while Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States remain the core western hubs.

The driver behind Hong Kong’s climb is unmistakable. BCG said mainland China inflows, strong initial public offering activity and equity-market gains powered a 10.7% increase in Hong Kong’s cross-border wealth last year. The report also said Hong Kong is cementing its role as China’s gateway to global markets, a position reinforced by the city’s proximity to mainland fortunes and the bankers, lawyers and asset managers who serve them. BCG expects Hong Kong and Singapore to keep growing at roughly 9% annually through 2030, compared with Switzerland’s expected 6% pace.

The numbers point to a market that is growing, but not evenly. Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission said total assets under management rose 13% year on year to HK$35,142 billion at the end of 2024, while net fund inflows jumped 81% to HK$705 billion. Private banking and private wealth management assets under management rose 15% to HK$10,404 billion, offering a sharp contrast with BCG’s 2024 finding that Hong Kong grew only 3.2% because of weaker inflows from mainland China.

Switzerland still matters, especially as a destination for flight-to-safety money from the Middle East during geopolitical stress. But the broader trend is clear: Hong Kong is no longer merely catching up to the West’s old wealth hubs. It is becoming one of the central nodes in a market increasingly shaped by mainland China, regional liquidity and the simple advantage of being close to the source of new wealth.