HSBC sets up Asian wealth team

Gabriel Tam was named as Asia head of UNHW solutions.

Bloomberg reports that HSBC is setting up a ultra-high-net worth team in Asia for clients with assets of about $30m or more in a dedicated pivot to capture the opportunities arising from the region's rapid wealth creation. 

Also read: HSBC targets $1b in additional revenue by 2020 from Asia's millionaires

The hiring spree is part of the bank's overall strategy to add 700 private banking jobs in Asia ranging from relationship managers, product specialists and family wealth planners by 2022. Gabriel Tam, who had worked at Bank of America Corp., was appointed Asia head of UHNW solutions whilst Julius Baer veteran Erik Bergqvist was hired as head of UHNW segment management.

Also read: Asian private banking assets hit $2.01t in 2017

“If we’re going to be able to achieve the ambitious growth plans that we’ve got, clearly we need to be able to address the ultra-high net worth segment very well,” Tan Siew Meng, Asia Pacific head of global private banking told Bloomberg. 

Asia was home to 814 billionaires with a combined net worth of $2.7t in 2018, according to a report from UBS and PwC, adding that the number of billionaires based in APAC is tipped to be wealthier than their US counterparts in less than three years.

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