Global banks including Citigroup, Standard Chartered, BNP Paribas and JPMorgan have asked their private banking staff to postpone or reconsider travel to China after authorities there prevented a UBS banker from leaving the country.  Swiss private bank Julius Baer, which manages assets worth $390 billion globally, has asked staff to be cautious about China travel plans, a separate person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Singapore-based UBS banker, who is a client relationship manager in the Swiss bank's wealth management unit, still has her passport, but was last week asked to delay her departure from Beijing and remain in China to meet with local authority officials this week. Her identity was not known. The purpose of the meeting with Chinese authorities is not clear. UBS has declined to comment on the matter.

(Comment: UBS is unusual in having an onshore wealth management business in China as well as its offshore operations, but almost all other banks advise wealthy Chinese individuals from offshore locations mainly in Hong Kong and Singapore.)