Standard Chartered has major wealth management ambitions in the coming years and Asia will play a crucial role in its plans, according to newly appointed global head of wealth solutions Samir Subberwal in an interview with finews.asia.
In 2023, Standard Chartered increased its base of affluent clients from 2.1 million to 2.3 million with $29 billion in net inflows. This was followed by an announcement to target $80 billion in net new money (NNM) from this segment over the next three years. And according to Samir Subberwal, the bank’s newly appointed global head of wealth solutions, deposits and mortgages, Asia will play a major role.
«Asia will be a large part of our NNM target from affluent clients in the next three years,» Subberwal said in an interview with finews.asia. «By markets, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and China will be the major contributors in Asia.»
Singapore: First Unified Platform
One of the major wealth management projects underway at Standard Chartered has been the creation of a unified platform to serve clients across all segments. Singapore has been the first market to achieve this feat and this will be key to enhancing its proposition, such as offering alternatives to accredited investors in its Priority Private clients – a segment in between mass affluent and private banking with a minimum account size of $1 million.
«We are aggressively growing our Priority Private business, which houses the majority of our accredited investor clients, and as that client base grows, the unified platform becomes even more relevant,» Subberwal shared.
Greater Bay Area Opportunity
In Hong Kong, the bank benefited from industrywide tailwinds of a border reopening in 2023. In addition to travel policy, local authorities have also been making other efforts to enhance the city's status as a wealth hub. One such example is the Wealth Management Connect cross-border scheme, which saw a recent upgrade in investment quota and product scope. Nonetheless, Subberwal echoes the sentiments of many that this is still not enough.
«The onshore opportunity is huge for us. In terms of the Wealth Management Connect scheme, it is honestly not yet a substantial revenue contributor. But it has been helpful for starting conversations with Greater Bay Area clients,» he said. «Still, I’m hopeful with the latest changes for it to contribute to a larger share of our business.»
Private Banking in India
Although not named as a top market contributor, Subberwal is optimistic about the outlook for India, which has been frequently headlined as the next big growth story as of late. In India’s onshore market, for example, Standard Chartered doubled the number of relationship managers within the private banking business last year.
«We are investing significantly in the private bank across talent and platform,» he added.
Digital Tranformation
For the broader international banking proposition, Standard Chartered has also been making significant investments, particularly in technology.
It recently launched a Chinese language-based mobile banking app in Singapore and will look to roll out apps in two more markets in 2024. It has also introduced a «myRM» capability that allows clients to trade through a chat function in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, India and UAE.
Tech-Enabled Advisory
More than just enhancing client-facing capabilities, the bank has also been able to effectively shift its wealth management business model via technology through the introduction of «SC Wealth Select», a wealth advisor framework for relationship managers and clients in 14 markets.
«These platforms have helped us move away from product sales to an advisory approach with a holistic portfolio view,» Subberwal said. «Today, more than 70 percent of our sales are digitally enabled. In addition to existing online capabilities like wealth lending, equities and funds, we will also look to add structured products this year.»
