HSBC looks beyond the current health crisis and towards the long-term, as it expresses confidence to triple the number of Greater China billionaire clients at its private bank over the next three years.
With an estimated 754 billionaires and $2.5 trillion in total wealth, according to a UBS and PwC report published in November, ultra-high net worth wealth in China remains amongst the crown jewels for global banks in the region.
«This ultra high-net worth piece is very, very critical for us,” said Tan Siew Meng, APAC head of global private banking at HSBC in a «Bloomberg» report. «It is one of the key focuses that we’re putting in place to ensure that we’re going to deliver on the broader strategy.»
Internal Referral
HSBC’s international network of retail and commercial banking business has been a key contributor of new client and assets for the regional private banking business and it expects this to be no different for the billionaire segment. According to Tan, 60 percent of private banking client referrals in Asia were sourced internally.
Currently, around 75 percent of the $151 billion in assets under management are from clients with $30 million or more in investable assets.
«We Are Not Concerned»
The private bank’s growth plans are currently being tested in a coronavirus pandemic that has hit nearly 220,000 victims and claimed nearly 9,000 lives. But even if this takes away short-term gains, Tan is confident in the long-term horizon.
«Even if 2020 is going to be impacted, the trajectory will come back,» she described. «It will pick up again when business activity or when travel starts to resume. We are not concerned.»
