HSBC’s wealth business in Asia delivered a solid start in the first quarter of 2021 since the roll out of its $3.5bn spending plan.
The recently combined wealth and personal banking (WPB) division is on track to hire over 1,000 client-facing wealth roles in Asia by the end of 2021 as part of the bank’s avowed objective to become the leading wealth manager in the region by 2025.
“Our $3.5bn investments are underway, enabling us to deliver a robust start in Asia this year across the full spectrum of our wealth clients, with new digital wealth capabilities, innovative products and the expansion of our omni-channel distribution, including boosting our wealth frontline teams,” said Greg Hingston, regional head of wealth and personal banking, Asia Pacific, in a statement this week.
In February 2021, HSBC announced plans to hire more than 5,000 client-facing wealth roles in the next five years, including relationship managers, investment counsellors and specialists to better support affluent, high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore.
In 2020, HSBC held client assets across the wealth spectrum of “mass affluent” to “ultra-high net worth” clients in Asia of $488bn, according to the bank.
Asia focus
Asia remains the key growth engine for the global WPB business, delivering $1.2bn of adjusted-profit-before-tax in Q1 2021, two thirds of global WPB profits. Wealth revenues in Asia rose by 57% year-on-year to $1.5bn, while Asia wealth balances grew 18%, contributing nearly half of the global $1.6trn of wealth balances, according to the statement.
HSBC’s private banking business in Asia attracted $6.6bn of net new money (NNM) in the first three months of the year, up 89% yoy, comprising half of global NNM.
Moreover, about 80% of retail wealth sales in Asia Pacific are conducted through digital channels as clients.
Other initiatives include the setting up of a onshore private banking business in Thailand and the launch of a dedicated independent asset managers’ desk in Singapore to service family offices and independent advisors managing wealth on behalf of their clients.
HSBC also recently launched an institutional family office service in Hong Kong and Singapore, which allows single-family office clients across Asia to access HSBC’s team of investment banking specialists.
