UBS Sees Room to Narrow Gap With Rivals in Asia Lending Push (1)

UBS Group AG is pushing ahead with expansion plans for the Asia-Pacific region with a focus on more lending to wealthy clients, despite the sharp drop in asset values as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Zurich-based bank’s loans account for about 11% of total private client assets of $406 billion in the region, well below the ratio of around 20% at some of its major competitors, according to Edmund Koh, who heads UBS’s operations in Asia Pacific. That suggests there’s room for expansion, Koh said in a phone interview in Singapore.

“The pipeline is actually very strong,” ...