Malaysia's CIMB is the latest bank to tap into the large, but underserved, seam of wealth in Thailand. Who will be next to join the cluster of wealth managers in Bangkok?
CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT) is planning an aggressive expansion of its wealth customers and their assets under management (AUM) this year to capitalise on the growing wealth of Thais amid the economic rebound.
The Bangkok Post reports that the Kuala Lumpur based bank aims to expand the number of its wealth customers under its CIMB Preferred scheme to 70,000 this year from 58,627 last year, and raise their AUM to 250 billion baht, according to the head of its wealth advisory Dusanee Klewpatinontha.
Swiss Banks Tune In
Last year Credit Suisse made a significant move and commitment into Thailand. The Swiss bank first set up a wealth management team in Thailand in May 2016 through its local securities entity Credit Suisse Securities (Thailand).
It offered wealthy individuals and families access to a comprehensive international investment and wealth management platform via its regional Private Banking hub in Singapore.
The bank then also hired the respected Thai wealth management veteran Thippa Praneeprachachon, from EFG Bank Singapore, as finews.asia reported.
Partnering With Local Banks
Fellow Swiss institution Lombard Odier also recognised the latent potential in the large and increasingly prosperous country when it signed a deal with local Thai bank Kasikornbank.
The Thai bank has a strategic agreement with Geneva based Lombard Odier who manage global investment funds on behalf of Kasikornbank’s private clients in return for a management fee.
Under a separate arrangement, Lombard Odier will also act as an exclusive offshore custodian for Kasikornbank clients, using Singapore as a booking center. Kasikornbank clients with assets under custody in Singapore also enjoy access Lombard Odier’s broad network of private banking experts.
