I look at things through a global prism, and have spent a lot of time on this topic. There may be the threat that global platforms like Google, Amazon or Tencent use their APIs to sideline banks in their current set-up. Google & Co will certainly offer financial services in the future.

What is UBS doing to prevent its business model from being disrupted? 

We want to belong to the global platforms which offer our own but also third-party financial services. We've laid the foundation with the One Wealth Management Plattform. Developments may take us towards an open banking system, where we still decide which services we provide and which third-party services we allow into our ecosystem.

Then you still maintain control. The problem is that a wealthy client from Germany for example could require UBS Europe to provide access to an independent wealth manager.

Yes, there is that option. We will have to face this challenge and continually convince our clients of our quality. If they see us primarily as a custodian bank, then he or she doesn't appreciate the value we can create. But that client could walk away even without the effect of PSD2. I don't believe wealthy clients come to us merely deposit money, but for advice.

But the pressure under PSD2 will only increase.

Absolutely. The race is undecided. But quality investment advice has its price. It's not enough to aggregate data and develop financial products on the basis of that. Fintechs will have to establish themselves through better investment advice.

I was in the U.S. recently and looked at several robo advisors. The interesting thing is, nearly all purely digital robo advisors have effectively failed and are beginning to hire client advisors. Ultimately, robo advisors approach the idea from the other side – the digital one – and have to acknowledge that wealth management requires flesh and blood. Are fintechs better equipped for the future than we are, as we add digital tools to a more personalized investment advisory? Time will tell. 

Dirk Klee joined Zurich-based UBS as the operating chief for its private bank in 2013. The 52-year-old lawyer is responsible for rolling out a digital strategy for UBS' private bank. Before he joined the Swiss bank, he was head of Blackrock in Germany for five years. Before the U.S. asset manager, Klee ran Allianz's fund distribution in Germany and Austria.