Citigroup and Standard Chartered have both said that they will increase headcount in their wealth operations in Asia, as reported by FSA‘s sister publication, International Adviser.
According to the Straits Times, Citigroup will add around 2,300 employees in its wealth management hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore.
The hiring spree in the region will include 1,100 relationship managers and private bankers in its newly merged wealth unit – Citi Global Wealth (CGW), which it announced in January 2021.
The decision comes after the banking group said it will exit the consumer banking business in 13 markets globally and focus on wealth centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE and the UK.
Peter Babej, Citi’s Asia Pacific chief executive, said: “The Asia Pacific wealth market stands out in its scale and growth potential. And this is not a cyclical opportunity – it is structural, driven by the emergence of a vast middle class and the rapid development of regional capital markets.”
Rival
In other news, Standard Chartered is planning to hire around 400 people in its retail banking and wealth management businesses in Hong Kong this year.
According to the South China Morning Post, the bank wants to transform its branch network as it seeks to tap greater demand from affluent customers for wealth planning.
It plans to invest HK$200m (£18.6m, $26m, €21.5m) over the next three years to reshape its 70 branches
Lay Choo Ong, Standard Chartered head of consumer, private and business banking in Hong Kong, said: “We believe that the future is not about digital-only, is not about branch-only, but really about digital with a human touch.
“We certainly do not think it’s about reducing the number of branches. It is much more about what you do with the space in the future.”
