According to reports out of Thailand Kasikornbank has spun off its private banking business from retail banking as a new business division to increase its flexibility to run wealth management and to cash in on the opportunities in this segment.
Kasikornbank acknowledges that the requirements of high-net-worth clients are vastly different from those of general retail customers and require more sophisticated services and products than general customers. The bank can expand income from this segment if it has the products that meet the requirements of rich customers, said Predee Daochai, president of Kasikornbank.
The bank and its private-banking partner, Switzerland's Lombard Odier, will jointly develop financial products to serve HNWs. Predee said Kasikornbank next year would offer Lombard financing and family services to help clients keep their wealth and to transfer it to their successors in the future.
Jirawat Supornpaibul, executive vice president and head of private banking business, said the bank had around 9,000 private banking clients with total assets under management of Bt750 billion.
The country's sluggish economy has not hurt the income of wealthy clients, who continue to generate healthy income for the bank, he said. He added that HNWs who used to invest in deposit accounts had shifted their investments to funds to get higher returns.
The bank yesterday held a seminar titled "Global Investment Solutions and Wealth Management" to help customers prepare for the new normal in the economy, which might influence their investment decisions.
Kasikornbank will officially introduce the new business division at a press briefing next Tuesday.
