Switzerland has more than 150 private banking businesses, Germany can boast at least 40 wealth managers and the UK has at least 30. Despite years of talk of consolidation, the wealth management sector remains by far the most fragmented part of the financial services industry.

But that might be about to change. Private bankers and analysts believe the forces unleashed by the credit crisis will drive acquisitions and mergers across the European wealth management industry in the next few years.