The desk will cater to the needs of family offices and independent advisors managing wealth on the behalf of their clients.

HSBC's private banking arm has set up a dedicated independent asset management (IAM) in Singapore to expand its reach into a fast-growing segment, the bank announced on Wednesday.

In the announcement, HSBC noted rapidly growth of the IAM industry in wealth management and said growing client awareness and demand for independent advisory services will continue to spur the development of specialized IAM advisors. 

«Clients increasingly have more options and by establishing this desk, we are supporting them in their wealth ambition with capabilities underpinned by our international footprint and full private banking suite of capabilities at scale,» Philip Kunz, HSBC's head of global private banking, Southeast Asia, said.

Family Office Focus

HSBC previously said it would place a much greater focus on the family office segment in Asia, following the creation of its newly merged wealth unit in February.

The bank's combined wealth business has $1.4 trillion in assets under management, with half of those assets in Asia. Revenue from Asia in the wealth business rose by 12 percent to $5.7 billion last year.